


The Aegis Awakens

by TalleyBear



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Aegis Swap (Xenoblade Chronicles 2), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Elves, F/M, Metsu | Malos needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:42:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28091862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalleyBear/pseuds/TalleyBear
Summary: Regan, despite her initial hesitance, found herself being the mentor of a young boy names Rex. Along with her blade Eva, Regan goes with Rex for a very suspicious job. Things go very wrong, and she once again gets to meet the Aegis: Malos. This time, she swears to protect Rex, who had become like a little brother to her. She failed the first time at protecting him, and only thanks to Malos did Rex live.*Features the concept of the Aegis Swap AU and also the addition of elves into the world of Alrest.
Relationships: Metsu | Malos/Original Female Character(s), Nia/Rex (Xenoblade Chronicles 2)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16





	1. I. A Suspicious Job

**Author's Note:**

> *Ever since I got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a couple weeks ago, I've wanted to definitely change some things about the story. If anyone would like to know more, just leave a comment and I'll put the details in the end notes for the next chapter.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter One; A Suspicious Job//

Ocean blue eyes glanced hesitantly into the cloud sea, as she seemingly waited for something. "Stop worrying, Rega. Rex'll be fine." A light sounding female voice said into the woman's ear. The woman flinched in response, before she looked over her shoulder at the flying form of her companion. "I know. Patience just.. isn't my best attribute... You would know, Eva."

"Of course. But I can tell you're worried."

"Just a little... After all, Rex is still a child."

Eva nodded, her light blue wings flapping noisily until she perched herself on the woman's shoulder. "You're lucky you're so light, or you'd probably break my shoulder. Even though I'm wearing armor." Eva let a snort in response, "I'm smaller than a six year old child, yet you're surprised that I weigh so little?" The woman shook her head, "Of course not. We've been together for many years, but you are certainly a unique looking blade."

Eva was indeed unique, mainly in the face she resembled a fairy yet she was of the ice element. Her outfit did give hints to her element, but blades that resembled fairy's were normally of the earth or wind element. Eva had snow white hair that was cut below her chin, which allowed for her pointed ears to be visible. She wore a light blue dress with a dark blue ribbon tied around her neck.

The dress was a little revealing, but Eva either did not seem to care or she was just completely oblivious to it. Her driver, a small elven woman, was wearing light green armor. The armor was not even close to being heavy, for it a very light set of armor. Clearly, she would be inadequately protected against someone attacking her head on.

Her hair also looked like it would be unsuitable for fighting, as it's length was down to the small of her back. "Rex is back!" Eva suddenly cheered out excitedly, and she flew off her driver's should only to perch herself on someone else's shoulder. "Hey, Eva. I'm in the middle of something here." He stated before he took off his helmet and it hung down on his back.

"Oh, what Rexy find this time?!!"

Rex flinched as the the blade practically screeched the question into his right ear. "Jeez, back off a bit Eva. You're gonna deafen poor Rex if you keep yelling into his ear like that." The woman reprimanded, and she placed her hands on her hips and gave a playful glare towards her blade. "Sorry..." Eva apologized, before she flew back to give Rex some space.

"How much you get this time?"

"I think it'll be worth a good amount, Regan. Now.. to get this thing open." He grabbed something to pry the container open while Regan spoke to him, "You were gone for a while Rex. Did anything happen?" Regan questioned, while she tucked a stray piece of her reddish brown hair behind her ear. The boy glanced back at her, "Nothing.. much. Except for the fact that location was too far off."

"How so?"

"The ping was off by 150 peds to the east. That's not gonna fly. Means that we really do need to buy ourselves a new depth probe."

Another voice spoke up this time, "And what about the treasure, Rex? Was it in line with your expectations?"

"It seemed pretty solid. Didn't even have to reinforce it too much." Rex responded as he gripped the crowbar he was holding and approached the container again. "Even with the labor costs, we should be able to turn a decent profit." The other voice, very much sounding old, spoke again.

"Honestly, it takes you two days to run the structural analysis... Yet somehow you can gauge the profits in a instant?" The titan they were standing on lifted his head and moved his neck to look at Rex. "Don't go rainin' on my parade, Gramps. You know, I'm in the salvaging trade for the cash! A little business sense goes a long way, all.. right?" He managed to pry the container but was startled back as a creature came out of the container. "Whoa!"

Rex backed up before he spoke again, "I didn't expect THAT! You've been living in this thing, big guy?" The thing lunged at him, but he managed to dodge in time. "Rex!" The titan called out, worry evident in his tone. "No worries, Gramps!" Rex responded before running into the small hut and grabbing his junk sword.

"Need any help?" Regan asked, but Rex shook his head. "Nah, I got this. I guess we know what's for lunch!" He said, and Regan nodded. Despite her seemingly easy acceptance of it, she still clutched her bow tightly just in case. Luckily, she did not end up needing to fire off a single shot. "Ahh, the brazier does my wary old bones such good..." The titan said as Rex started cooking part of the King Crustip.

"You want me to move it, Gramps?"

"No.. no... Leave right there.. ahh..." Rex smiled at that before looking over as Regan sat down next to the brazier. "You want any?" He asked, and he looked behind Regan as Eva once again perched herself on her driver's shoulder. "Not really." She responded, a look of disgust passing over her expression. "Oh, right... Elves don't eat this kind of stuff, do they?"

The elf nodded, "We do eat meat but not stuff like the King Crustip." Rex seem to ponder that for a moment, "Man, you are certainly missin' out. This kind of stuff is delicious. Say, Reg, what are you are gonna eat then?" The question made her pause in her movement of running a hand through her hair. "Well, I stocked up on some food last time we went to Argentum."

"I see." He said before he got up and started putting away some of the salvage that he had gathered. After he was done, he came back to check on the meat. "Alright, yum!" He said as he realized that it was done cooking. Grabbing it off the brazier, he took a bite of it and another. Rex was about to take another bite, but a strange and loud sound interrupted him.

He set the meat down before he stood up and looked in the direction that the noise came from. A titan, a good sized one, became visible to them for only a moment before it suddenly fell down and did not come back from the cloud sea. "Whoa..." Regan muttered quietly to herself, as she came to the realization of what had just happened. She stumbled slightly as the impact caused a harsh wind to blow clouds from the cloud sea at them.

"That's another. Happening a lot more now." Rex said.

"Hmm... More so than before." The titan said in response, his eyes moving away from where the other titan had fell and to Rex. "Hey, Gramps.. do you think Fonsett Village will be gone too one day?" The titan let a sigh before responding. "It will not be today, nor will it be tomorrow... But yes, one day it will fall."

"One day, there'll be nowhere left to live."

"Sadly... That's how it goes with us titans."

"Hey Gramps.. you titans were born up there, right?" Rex pointed towards the world tree, "So they say, for what it's worth. Mind you, I was born here on Alrest." Rex stared at the world tree for a moment, before he spoke again. "As for my ancestors, who could say where they were born?"

"Do you think it's real.. this Elysium?" Rex questioned, unaware of the sad look that Regan was giving him.

"A land of plenty, atop the world tree. If such a place did exist, perhaps then we could all live in peace." The titan looked directly at Rex while speaking.

"Let's go to this Elysium, together."

•°•°•

"Just 200 g for that... Man, I really thought I'd brought in the big load this time. But now I've been requested directly by the chairman. What could he possibly want with me?" Rex muttered, before he nearly got startled out of his skin as Regan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Rex. It'll definitely be better tomorrow." She told him, but her tone indicated that it was very likely an empty promise. It was not impossible, but it was also unlikely.

"Hopefully... Anyway, did you hear that the chairman wants to see me?" Regan nodded in response, "You wanna come with..?" The elf smiled at that, "Sure.. but this honestly seems a bit strange to me."

Rex cocked his head at her, "Really, how so?"

She looked down for a moment, but Eva spoke before Regan could lift her head. "Rexy is a good salvager, yes? Only thing the chairman could want would be for you to salvage something for him... But it would make more sense for him to hire a more experienced one, correct?" Rex nodded, and he looked he wondered where Eva was going with this.

"What Eva's saying, is that there is really no reason for the chairman to want to hire you specifically." Regan finished what Eva was saying, and Rex quickly shook his head. "That's not true. What if he just wants to help give me more experience?" The elf thought about it for a split second, but she quickly shook her head. "The thing is, I've met the chairman in person and let's just say.. he's not one to hire inexperienced people."

"What do you mean inexperienced? I'm pretty good at what I do, I'd say." The look in her eyes indicated that she was not in the mood for arguing with him. Rex sighed after a moment, "Okay, okay... Now, if it bothers you so much.. why don't you just come with me?" Regan looked to be okay with that, so he started walking up the stairs.

Regan followed after a moment along with Eva, who was still perched on her shoulder.

•°•°•

"100,000?!!" Rex exclaimed, and his eyes widened as he stared at the very large nopon in front of him. "Yes; however, that is just the advanced payment. 100,000 more will be given upon completion of the job." Chairman Bana informed them, but Regan still had a guy feeling that something just was not right. "200,000 in total?!!"

"I'll do it." Rex answered, which caused Regan's head to snap in his direction. "Rex..!" She scolded as he muttered happy things to himself. "You accept before you even know details of job?" Bana questioned, almost looking to be intrigued. "Oh, yeah... So, what am I supposed to do exactly?" Bana looked at one of his half clothed female workers, "Bring them in."

The servant did as asked and walked down to a room, "Rega, I have a funny feeling..." Eva whispered into her driver's ear, and Regan could not help but nod in agreement. She did not trust this one bit, but she knew that Rex was persistent. When the people walked in, it took her only a second to realize that they were drivers with blades.

The first person who walked in looked to be a young gormotti girl, along with a blade that resembled that of a tiger. The core crystal glowed strongly on the tiger's chest. The gormotti girl had short silver hair and amber eyes. She was pretty short and looked to be a teenager. Regan had a weird feeling about her, but she was not sure of what it was. The blade had white fur and judging by his appearance, he was likely of the water element and he was also a healer.

The next pair to walk in was a red haired woman wearing a cloak draped over her shoulders, and it also covered her chest. Something hit Regan at that moment.. a feeling of dread. But she had no clue who this woman was but even still, she was eerily familiar. Her blade resembled that of a lizard, but it was bipedal, and something about it frightened her. All the elf knew was that the red head and her blade freaked Regan out.. maybe it was due to the girl's fiery red eyes.

Then, a lone man walked in last. He had silver, almost white hair and blue eyes. The man wore a mask that covered part of his face, and horn like structures stuck out of the top of the mask. Shock hit her as she had no doubt in her mind about who he was, and she unknowingly took a step back. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, and she felt something she never expected to come from him.. hatred.

"Jin..." She muttered quietly, before she flinched as his eyes met hers. His eyes widened a bit, for it was likely that he had not expected her to be there. There was a slight change in his expression, and she would swear that it seemed to be that of remorse and regret. But it was only there for split second, and she could not even be sure that it had actually happened or if she had simply imagined it.

Rex was saying something, but she had managed to not hear any of what he was saying. She wrapped her arms around herself, almost protectively. She had once trusted Jin, but something was very wrong about him now. It was like.. he was a whole new person altogether. His voice made her heart race in fear, and she felt unsafe just being in the same room as him.

"So... There's something that we want to haul up. There were some current shifts. It showed up in an uncharted area. But it's a long way down." Jin informed, as he turned his attention to Rex.

"Nice... I like a good challenge!"

"Bana offered to assemble team of veterans for this job. But this crew very picky. They want small elite team, and only from Leftheria." Something clicked in Regan's mind at that, but she held her tongue. "That when Bana have stroke of genius! Should hire Rex!" Bana exclaimed, and he definitely looked way too proud of himself for that.

"Hah-ah! You made the right choice!"

She found herself wanting to scold him again but stopped as she heard the gormotti girl start laughing. "A child salvager? Jin, don't tell me we're gonna have to hire some babysitters for this outing too." Rex was obviously offended at the girl's words, "What the hell? You look as much as a kid as I do, lady!" He retorted.

"At least I wouldn't wet myself at the promise of a measly hundred grand!"

Rex attempted to walk towards her, "What're you tryin' to say?" Her blade stopped Rex from coming any closer to her, and the beast blade cleared his throat. "Rex, was it? I implore you to excuse my lady's discourtesy." The blade bowed his head at Rex. "Dromarch! What have I told you about speaking for me? Shut your-" The red haired woman quickly intervened.

"Cut it out, Nia. Fighting with him is going to get you nowhere." Her voice, while gentle, was very familiar sounding to Regan. "But.. I do see your point... However, it should be simple enough to find out." Due to her years of training, Regan easily caught the quick movement of the red head reaching for her sword. "What?!!" Rex yelled out at she lunged at him with her sword drawn.

Regan quickly attempted to intervene but to her surprise, Jin gave her a look that told her to not do it. She had no idea why, but she did so, flinching as Rex barely managed to dodge out of the way of the woman's swift and quick blows. He pulled out his sword and attempted to take a swipe at her, but she easily dodged it. Then he attempted to strike her again, but she quickly blocked it with her sword before she pushed him back.

"Ugh! What're you playing at?!!"

The red head smiled at that and sheathed her sword. "Hmm, looks like you are capable." Nia quickly interjected, "Pyra! How's beating up the kid gonna help anything?!!" The gormotti questioned, but Pyra simply shook her head. "I just wanted to see if he was capable of handling it. Seems that he is... Although, you don't look like a driver. Where'd you learn those arts?"

Rex was silent, his hands still gripping his sword tightly. The red head looked him over, before she suddenly turned her attention to Regan. "Perhaps, was this elf your teacher?" Rex finally put away his sword, although he honestly still looked upset at what Pyra had done. "Not exactly... Gramps actually taught me.. that was his idea of playtime, even when I was little. Regan helped to refine my arts, though."

"Hmm... How well does she do in a fight?"

He looked confused at that, "Fine, but why-" Pyra did not allow him to say anything else, before she all of a sudden drew her sword and lunged at Regan. Honestly, Regan was not too surprised at this and simply blocked the attack with her bow. "I'm not amused. Attacking Rex and then me... Is that really your idea of how to be nice to the people you hire?"

Pyra stared into the shorter woman's eyes for a moment, before she moved back and once again sheathed her sword. The elf watched the red head for a second, and she put her bow away after a moment. "Interesting... You know, you seem awfully familiar to me. Almost like.. we've met before." Regan could have taken it as a joke, but the look in Pyra's eyes indicated that she was not joking.

"Never seen you before." Regan said, and it was the truth.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _As much as I love both Pyra and Mythra, I found myself interested in the concept of the Aegis Swap AU. I also wanted to include an OC of mine and probably several more that will pop in the story later. I'm not sure if anyone will like this, as it's not a unique idea and I've definitely read better ones. Only thing is, the stories have not been updated in a couple months. That's when I decided to make my one fanfiction since Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is now one of my favorite games on the switch. Hope you enjoyed, and I'd appreciate some feedback._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


	2. II. A Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite being nervous about the job, Regan allows herself to fall asleep. Then, she wakes up somewhere strange and sees someone very familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. To be honest, I still don't have a set schedule for updating my stories and I get preoccupied with other things. I'd honestly appreciate some feedback.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Two; A Familiar Face//

"Anyway, that's just about covers it. I have to go now." Rex told the old Titan, before he attempted to turn around and walk away. However, he was quickly stopped by Regan standing in his way. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she looked very unamused to say the least. "That does not just about cover it in the slightest!" Rex flinched and turned around at the Titan's voice.

"Why would you take a job that you know nothing about? You don't even know who your employer is..!" The Titan scolded, and he was clearly genuinely upset. "Listen. It'll be okay, Gramps. Besides, this came directly from the chairman himself. What more could you need?" Rex asked before he walked away and pretended not to hear the Titan calling out for him.

"I sincerely apologize, Azurda. Talking him out of this isn't gonna work." Regan stated apologetically, and she bowed her head towards him. The movement unintentionally caused a strand of her hair to fall out of place and slip to rest over her right shoulder. The strand, while of the same length as the rest of her hair, was snow white in color. The rest of her hair was completely normal in terms of color, yet that one strand was as white as snow.

"I know. I just wish that boy would stop being so reckless. He's gonna wind up getting himself seriously hurt or even worse..." Azurda trailed off, and he looked worried. The elf nodded in agreement, "Yeah... That's why I'm going to go with him. I cannot allow him to take on this alone, so I will come with...and I will keep him safe. Okay?" Regan asked, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Oh, alright, then. I trust you... I just wish it was possible to prevent him from going in the first place."

"Me too, Azurda. Me too..."

•°•°•

"Rex.. why won't you just listen to me..?"

Regan questioned quietly, and she glanced over at the bed next to her. The boy in question was already asleep, and she was currently unable to find sleep. Her armor had been taken off, and she was dressed in her night clothes. Since she had first met Rex two years ago, Regan had became close to him and had started to see him as a little brother. He was honestly kind of rude at times, yet he was one of the nicest people that she knew and he also seemed to care way too much at times.

Regan had gotten used to sleeping in the hut on Azurda's back, so the inn was refreshing to her. Part of her missed the time she had spent in Torna 500 years ago, despite the fact that time was anything but peaceful. Back then, she felt like she had a purpose.

For a long time, she had lost that sense of belonging and purpose. Until she met Rex, then she felt that her purpose was to protect him. It was weird to her at first, considering that she had been accustomed to being the younger one compared to her brother. Rex was not related to her, but she genuinely felt a connection to him.

That's one of the reasons she was so worried about the job. Despite the fact that Jin had once been her ally, Regan could not bring herself to trust him now. He had always been kind of jerk, on the surface anyway, but had been one of the nicest people she had ever met. The air about him was completely different, and she knew that something had definitely occured to change him.

Another thing bothered her. How the hell did he remember her? Jin had not actually said anything out loud that made her think it, but the look on his face when he saw her told her all she needed to know. There was one possibility in her mind, but Regan hoped that it was not true.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Regan stood stiffly in front of the ship that they were going to take off on, and she was gripping something tightly in her left hand. Her Blade, as usual, was perched on her shoulder with her eyes looking out for Rex. After a moment of silence, Regan suddenly opened her hand to look at the object she was currently holding. A long metal chain hung off the end of what appeared to be an locket.

The locket itself was circular in shape, and looked to be silver colored. "Just wear it. It'll be fine." Eva said with her head turned in Regan's direction. The elf stared at it for a moment, before she slipped it over her head and it hung down just below her collarbone. She watched her surroundings for a moment, before she flinched as Jin was now in front of her.

She honestly had not even noticed him approach, and it terrified her to think about just how easily he had snuck up on her. "What..?" Regan questioned, and she crossed her arms while looking up at him. With the mask, it was difficult to fully recognize the emotions present in his expression. His eyes were really the only thing she could rely on to figure out what he was thinking.

"You should leave."

The words almost caused her to take a step back in surprise. "E-excuse me..?" Regan had honestly no idea what to make of it, for Jin's behavior was a mystery. Although, it almost seemed like he was warning her of something. "Leave. I cannot help you unless you do as I say." Jin stated, and Regan felt something strange from him.

"I will not. If I allowed Rex to do this on his own, I couldn't live with myself..." The elf stated, and she looked down at her feet for a moment. "Y'know, I've figured out what you're after... It's Malos, isn't it?" She asked, despite the fact that she already knew that it was the truth. Why Jin himself would be after Malos was a mystery to her, but she doubted that he would tell her.

Jin stared at her in response, and he simply said nothing else and proceeded to walk towards the ship. "Sorry about him. He can be a bit grumpy at times." This time, it was Pyra speaking. The woman honestly seemed friendlier than she had been before, but Regan still did not trust her. Honestly, if Regan did not have the feeling of familiarity about the red head: she would have thought that Pyra was sweet and kind if the red head had not essentially attacked both Rex and her.

"It.. it's fine." She said in response, and she found herself staring at Pyra's face. Pyra had pale skin with flushed cheeks and fiery red eyes. Despite the fact that Regan could not recall anyone with those features that looked exactly like Pyra, the red head's voice was strangely similar to one she heard a long time ago. It seemed unlikely, but Regan knew that Pyra was likely someone she used to know but had simply had a different appearance back then.

Regan had no idea how it could be possible, but she started to think that this could be the person that had tried so hard to destroy the world and everyone in it. She had no proof, but it made sense if they were trying to find Malos. But why would they need him..? It made no sense to even bother awakening the one man who could stop her, so something had to be seriously wrong.

The red head looked like she was about to ask something, but Rex finally appeared and let out a yawn. "Reg, I see you're already up." He commented, before his eyes fell onto Pyra. "Oh, uh... Hi, uh.. good morning, Pyra..?" Regan closed her eyes and let out a sigh at his words and the blush on his face. She could not entirely blame him since Pyra's shorts hardly covered anything.

The red head wore a pair of red shorts, that honestly did not cover much. Pyra had discarded the cloak that she had wore, and an extra piece was added to the red armor that she wore, on top of her chest. It was eerily in the same place that core crystals typically were, and Regan knew that it was not merely a coincidence. Pyra was now holding her cloak under one of her arms, and she gripped something in her hand tightly.

The object was small enough to where Regan could not tell what is was, yet she could still tell that it was likely very important to Pyra. "Hi, Rex. You sleep well?" Pyra asked, and Rex nodded in response. "Yeah. I normally sleep in the hut on Gramps' back, so the inn was actually quite pleasant." The red head nodded in response, before she went to walk onto the ship with her blade not far behind.

After she left, Rex took a moment to gawk at the ship that they were to get on. "Gawking at a ship...what're you, twelve?" Nia walked to them, and she crossed her arms. "Wait, maybe you really are twelve." She stated, and she honestly looked a little annoyed. "Hey! I can certainly admire a good feat of engineering when I see one. And...I'm fifteen, I'll have you know." Rex responded, and Nia scoffed in response.

He was silent for a moment before he suddenly looked down at Nia's feet "Hey, you might wanna watch where you step." Rex informed her, "Otherwise.. you might lose a leg when we cast off." The girl jumped back at that and an agitated look fell over her expression as he started laughing. "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Why you-"

"That's enough you two. Now, c'mon." Pyra interrupted them, and Nia sighed before she glared at Rex then headed onto the ship. The Elf and Rex followed them after a moment of standing there. Regan had to admit that the ship was impressive, but she had honestly never been one to admire ship architecture. Even if she was one to admire it, she refused to allow herself to get distracted again.

•°•°•

As she stared over the railing, out at the cloud sea, Regan quickly took note of the ship following them. She could not be sure that it was actually following them, but she decided that was a big possiblity. "You alright?" The red head's voice did not startle her, for she had heard the woman approach. Regan was determined to not let them catch her off guard again.

"I'm fine. Just.. thinking."

Pyra came closer and looked over the railing too. She was silent for a moment before she then took a glance at the item Regan was wearing. "That's a pretty locket you got there. Was it a gift?" Part of Regan just wanted to keep her mouth shut, yet she decided that it did not really matter if Pyra knew or not. "It was.. from my late mother." She answered, and unpleasant memories rushed through her mind but she put them away.

"I'm sorry... I didn't..." Pyra said nothing else and almost looked guilty that she had even asked. It was strange. The woman was definitely similar to someone, yet she seemed so different at the same time. When they had talked with Bana, Pyra had so willingly attacked them. Yet, she now showed remorse for something as little as bringing up bad memories when she had no way of knowing.

"It's alright... She's been gone a long time, and I've moved on. Besides, you didn't know."

Despite Regan's reassurance, Pyra still looked apologetic. "Still, it was inconsiderate of me to not even think about a possibility like that." The elf shook her head, "No one is perfect, Pyra. We all make mistakes, so it's better to just learn from them." The Elf almost seemed to just be on autopilot at this point, and the tone of her voice indicated that the words were almost rehearsed in a way.

Pyra did not respond to this and simply walked away.

•°•°•

After Pyra had walked away from her, Regan found herself heading down the stairs. She glanced around for a moment before she finally spotted the person she was looking for. The man was standing by himself, and it was evident that he was not much for talking. To be honest, Regan had no idea if she should actually approach him. The Elf doubted that she would get any answers from him, but she still felt compelled to at least try.

She simply watched him for a moment, and she did not know what to say. The Elf looked at his sword for a second, and her eyes widened at the red crystal on the hilt of the of it. Despite how long it had been since she had last seen him, Regan knew for sure that the crystal had been blue back then. She did not not have a clue why it would be pure red though, so she honestly was bewildered at this.

"Lora..." Regan muttered quietly to herself, and she genuinely wondered what had happened to the sweet woman who had been like a big sister to her. When you thought about it logically, there was likely no way Lora could still possibly be alive. Compared to the Elves and the Indoline, most races in Alrest had relatively short lives in comparison.

Regan finally just sighed before finally moving to stand next to him. He almost seemed to ignore her at first, but he suddenly turned to look at her. "Why do you look this way? Does looking like this make you happy?" The questions caused her to pause as she was about to speak. "It doesn't matter... It's my choice to remain like this." She almost sounded.. defensive.

He did not ask anything more nor did he say anything else. "Jin...what are you doing..? Why are you with her? We fought together to defeat her so long ago yet now...you stand by her side." Regan questioned, but she received no answer in return. She looked down at the floor and contemplated what she should say next. "What happened to Lora, Jin..? I heard about the attack..and you never responded to any of the messages I sent... Why?"

His expression changed in the moment, and his mask could not hide the change. Along with his expression, his eyes widened as she spoke. A soft sound came from him before his expression suddenly hardened and he turned away from her. At this reaction, Regan knew that her attempt had definitely been a futile one. "I shouldn't have left...maybe, I could have stopped it... It's... it's all my fault." She whispered to herself, unaware that Jin had heard as she walked away.

As she went further down, she spotted the young Gormotti girl and her blade talking with Rex. "I am not seasick...I am simply not used to being on a ship with this many salvagers at once." Regan took note of her slightly pale and green face. The young salvager looked amused at this before he suddenly let out a laugh, "Hah...sure." He walked away before Nia could even say a another word.

"Oh, hi Reg. How are you?" He asked as he spotted her, and it seemed that he was still contemplating about the job. "I'm fine... Listen Rex, I still think that this is a bad idea. I mean, it's honestly too late to back out now..but I still have a bad feeling." She did not just have a bad feeling. Regan knew that she could not allow them to take Malos, for she knew that it would not end well.

•°•°•

After a little while longer of wandering around the ship, Regan found herself leaning against the wall near the small room that Rex was now sleeping in. She closed her eyes for only a moment and when she opened them, she found herself in a somewhat familiar place. Regan knew that she had never actually been there, but she did have fragments of it within her memory.

"Elysium...you've seen it too, haven't you?"

Regan froze at the voice for only a couple seconds before she turned her head in the direction that it came from. "Malos..." She said quietly, and she examined him for a moment. Malos honestly looked exactly the same as when she last saw him. His purple, crucifix-shaped core crystal shone brightly in the center of his chest. "Hmm..." It seemed that he was was waiting for something.

At that moment, she realized that he had asked her something. Regan thought for a second before she recalled what he had asked. "Elysium... Yes...yes I have... It's in fragments though, so I don't recall much." She answered, and she looked up at him to see his reaction. The Aegis did not seem to react at first, and he simply stared silent for a moment with his gray eyes staring out the scenery of Elysium.

Then, suddenly, he let out a chuckle and looked down at her. "That's not surprising... I'm curious, though...you mind telling me something?" Regan raised an eyebrow at that. He had honestly never been one to ask permission to do something as simple as asking a question. So, it was strange that he was doing so now...then again, it had been 500 years. So it was not surprising for him to change at least a little since then.

"Sure. What is it?"

He looked at for a moment, his eyes examining her figure. "What's up that appearance, Regan..? It's...odd." Malos questioned, and he looked...almost concerned. The Elf was quiet in response, and he let out a sigh. "It doesn't look bad of course but...I prefer your hair white." Her eyes widened in response, and her face flushed bright red.

"Wh-what..?"

Malos chuckled at her response, "You're still as cute as ever, Snow...seems that 500 years made no difference to that." He stated before he then looked at the sky. Regan was silent and with her cheeks still flaming red: she suddenly cried out in pain. This immediately drew his eyes away the sky and back to her. She was holding her right hand up and after a moment of examining her: he spotted the large cut across the palm of her right hand.

"How..?" He asked before he took her hand in his own and stared at the cut for a moment. Malos looked bewildered as he was unable to find a cause for the injury...but he also looked bothered about something else. "I'm...fine... I just-" The Elf abruptly cut herself off and pulled her hand out of his grasp. It was clear that she had been about to say something, but she had just stopped.

"Regan?"

She shook her head rapidly, "I can't, I...I'm so sorry Malos... I just...I can't..." Her eyes started to water, and she all of a sudden turned her back on him. It did not take him long to realize that she had started crying, and he honestly was unsure of just what she was upset about. After a moment of this, a strange glow started coming from her.

"I...I have to go... Goodbye, Malos...for now." He did not even even get a chance to respond before she just vanished. As she disappeared, his expression was one of confusion. After a moment of simply stating at where she had been, he finally looked away from that spot and went back to gazing at the scenery of Elysium.

"What the hell happened to you, Snow..?"

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _Bonus Scene_ *

A young Elven woman, with reddish brown hair and forest green eyes, stared at the crucifix-shaped core crystal in front of her. It was light blue in color and almost appeared to be made out of ice. She suddenly glanced towards two men standing near her; however, one of the men had a purple core crystal that was the exact same shape of the one that was right in front of her.

"Ant, just go ahead and do it. The longer you wait...the longer we'll have to wait to stop Mythra's rampage."

Ant let out a sigh at this, "I know... I'm just a bit...worried." The man that was wearing a cloak shook his head at her. "Believe me, I know how you feel. Just do it...just go ahead and get it over with." He told her, and she finally turned her attention back to the light light blue core crystal in front of her. After a moment of hesitation, the woman finally reached her hand out.

As her hand touched the core crystal, there was a flash of light. Ant felt strange as she felt something change and then there was another flash of light. Now, there was a short female Blade standing in front of her. The Blade had snow white hair with the top half of it braided while the lower section of her hair was left down. Her ocean blue eyes were framed with snow white eyelashes, and her skin was pale with her cheeks slightly flushed with heat.

The Blade wore light blue armor, that almost reassembled ice in some places, and a light blue, crucifix-shaped core crystal shined brightly in the center of her chest. A tiara, looking like ice, poked out from underneath her hair and a light blue crystal shone in the middle of it. In her hands, she held two daggers with each of them possessing a light blue, crucifix-shaped core crystal on their hilts.

Ant honestly was speechless by this point because: outside of the different colors, this Blade reassembled herself so strongly. The Blade stared at the Elf for a moment before suddenly bowing her head. "You must be my Driver...my name is Regan. What about you?" The Blade asked, and the Elf was silent for a moment. "The name is Antea...but everyone just calls Ant." Somehow, leaving off only two letters made her much more comfortable with her name.

"I see... Well...I look forward to working with you, Ant."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _I decided against hiding Regan's true identity from everyone reading this story. When I mentioned changing stuff about the story, this is one of the things I wanted to add. The bonus scenes will definitely start to spoil things from Torna: The Golden Country. However, I will tell you if the bonus scene of a chapter spoils something from the DLC._ *

* _I would like to say something about what I have planned. The story will be very similar sometimes; however, the story will be very different at other times. At a certain point, the story will become very different. I know that it was vague, but I don't wish to reveal too much. I hope you enjoy._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


	3. III. Life Force Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Regan's best efforts to keep him safe, Rex finds himself talking to a man named Malos in a strange place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I was not sure where to end the chapter, but I decided to end it before any real fighting started.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Three; Life Force Part One//

* _The first part of this chapter takes place before Regan met Malos in the memory of Elysium._ *

With binoculars in hand, Rex started night watch. He looked out at the cloudy night sky before he suddenly spotted a somewhat familiar vessel following them. "It's the black ship from the harbor... Is it...following us..?" He wondered before someone speaking to him caught his attention.

"Ugh, it's way too cold up here."

It was the Driver girl from earlier, but she did not have her Blade with her this time. "Oh. It's you-" Rex started but was quickly interrupted by her.

"I'll have you know. I've got a name...it's Nia." He honestly already knew that but if she was not going to call him Rex, then he refused to call her by her name.

"They're boozin' below deck...you should join 'em."

Rex raised a brow at her, "Why aren't you there?" He asked and he watched as she turned her back to him.

"It's not that I hate it. I just...really don't need a headache right now." She explained, which caused Rex to let out a light chuckle.

"You're lucky you aren't a salvager then." His words caused Nia to turn around to face him.

"Why's that?"

"The Salvager's Code...swim like a fish and drink like one too." He explained which caused Nia to sigh.

"Ugh...sounds terrible. I don't think I'll be changin' careers." Rex nodded at that before he spoke.

"Probably for the best... Anyway, I bet you drivers make a hell of a lot more than salvagers do!" He commented since Regan had never even told him how much she was making.

"So, kid-"

"My name's Rex."

Nia sighed, "Okay, Rex...why did you start salvaging in the first place?" She asked before she looked in the direction that he was now pointing in.

"That there." Rex said simply, and she almost seemed a bit bewildered at this. "The...World Tree? I don't get it."

"You know, you find all sorts of things digging through salvage... Some of it trash, some of it treasure...but all of it from people long gone." Rex started.

"Have you noticed how there's fewer Titans each day? I saw one go under just the other day. It was a pretty big one. There must've been loads of animals still living on it... Living space is running out day by day. Sooner or later, we'll be the ones sinking down into the Cloud Sea. But up there... Elysium is waiting for us. " Rex finished, but he felt a bit annoyed as Nia started to laugh.

"Seriously, kid? "Elysium"? Don't tell me you believe that guff!" Nia paused for second and looked genuinely curious for a moment, "So that's, uh...why you're a salvager? It's just a lie for children, and there is just an overgrown shrub!"

Rex, despite feeling annoyed at the dismissal, responded, "If there is a way to get up there, maybe it's hidden below the clouds. Is it really that crazy?"

"Seriously, though...?"

"There's be no need to fight over dwindling land and resources... No need to worry about our homes sinking away... Everyone could have peace and security. I mean, a dream like that... Isn't that worth believing in?"

"No one can tell you what to believe but..." She trailed off, but she instead said something else. "Hmm... "Everyone", huh...? I always thought people were pretty selfish by nature. But you..."

"Huh?"

"D'you have parents?"

"Nope. When I asked Gramps, he told me they died when I was just a kid."

"Gramps... Oh yeah, the same one that taught you how to use arts?"

Rex nodded before he started talking again. "Yup. He practically raised me himself...he's not like us, though."

"Not like...?" When Rex did not respond, she spoke again. "I'm not sure I catch your drift...but this Gramps of yours sounds alright." Nia was silent for a moment; however, she asked something else after a couple seconds. "Oh, by the way... How long have you known that Driver friend of yours? You seemed close."

"Just about two years now. Despite that, though...she still hasn't told a lot about herself. All I know, is that she seems to have a problem with trusting people."

"You still trust her then?"

Rex nodded, "Of course. I think she probably just had something really bad happen to her before she met me...and I think she does trust me, even though she is still hesitant to tell me things."

"Hmm, have you ever asked?" Nia questioned, and Rex quickly nodded his head.

"I did once... She started...crying." The boy explained before he let out a sigh. "After that, I haven't dared to ask her again. I figure...that when or if she wants to tell me, she will."

Nia looked thoughtful at that, "Huh... that's actually quite respectful of you. You're alright, kid." She looked out at the cloud sea before saying something to herself. "Not that different from me."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

After leaving the dream- or memory version rather- of Elysium, Regan found herself being awoken by Rex. "It's time for me to head out. I thought I'd let you know." Regan nodded before she winced at the throbbing coming from her hand. Rex looked concerned at this, and he grabbed her hand to examine it. "Again? What happened this time...?" He questioned her, but Regan shook her head.

"I don't know, but what I do know...is that I'm okay. It's just a scratch. Besides, you need to go... I'll take care of it myself, promise."

The boy almost seemed a bit hesitant to leave, but he eventually relented and let go of her hand. "Okay... See you in a bit." Regan watched as he headed down the stairs before she let out a sigh a glanced down at her hand. It was not a lethal wound but even so, it still hurt like hell. She knew that Malos had definitely been suspicious as well as worried as the cut had so suddenly formed- seemingly with no cause for it.

He had always been very good at seeing right through her, so it was difficult for her to hide things from him. Regan knew that he would figure it out eventually...but part of her still hoped that he would not. The Elf knew that it was hopeless, and she should not bother hiding it. Despite knowing that, she refused to just tell him. At the moment, she was far more concerned with keeping Rex safe.

•°•°•

After they managed to get the ancient looking vessel pulled up, Regan found herself watching as it floated. "You need to get that patched up, Rega." The Driver let out a sigh as her Blade said those words.

She nodded, "I know that, Eva... Nia's most definitely a healer, so I'll see if she has any spare bandages." Regan knew that, mainly because the twin rings weapon class was healer based.

"Then do it, now."

Eva definitely was not typically the type to be so stern but whenever Regan was injured, she seemed to become much more strict. She had every right to be worried, and Regan honestly could not be more grateful for the concern. "Okay, okay..." Regan relented and went to look for Nia. Luckily, or unluckily in a sense, for her, she found the Gormotti girl standing next to Jin and Pyra.

"Uh, Nia... Can I talk to you for a second?" Regan requested, and the Gormotti girl looked at her.

"Sure, what is it?" The Elf simply held out her right hand. Nia looked at for a second."How'd this happen exactly? You do this in your sleep or somethin'?" She decided against telling the full truth and simply nodded yes to the question.

"I see... Here." Nia applied a poultice to her hand, and the Elf nodded in thanks. "You should be more careful...it's not normal to do this kind of thing in your sleep." The Gormotti girl stated and it was clear that was completely serious.

"I know... Most of the time, the pain wakes me up...so I think I'll be fine." Nia did not seem convinced but let it go as Jin and Pyra started walking away.

"That was pretty good. You're not half bad, y'know that?" Nia complimented while crossing her arms over her chest. The fifteen year old turned red at that.

"I do this kind of stuff all the time, remember...?" He almost looked to be embarrassed. As Jin and Pyra started walking to the entrance of the ship, the former of the two suddenly turned around and looked pointedly at Rex.

"You, with us."

"What...me?"

"You're gonna drag the kid along, seriously?" Nia questioned before a gentle look from Pyra made her pause.

"He's already proved himself to be capable, Nia. May even give him a bonus if things go well enough." Something seemed very wrong about that statement, and Regan knew that the word if really bothered her.

"Oh and you should come to." Pyra looked at Regan now. Only now did Regan notice that Pyra was once again wearing the cloak. The Elf just nodded, for she had already been planning on going in anyway. She was not about to let Rex do it alone, and she was going to keep him safe. For a moment, Rex, Regan, and Nia stood there.

Suddenly, Nia quickly turned to Rex and snapped at him. "Well, what're you waitin' for? You have your orders, now move it!" He stepped back at that before Pyra called out to them.

"C'mon, stop wasting time kids!" She almost seemed to be agitated and annoyed, and it felt like her true self was slipping through.

"Wow... Never seen Pyra get that angry before." Nia commented.

"Gramps always told me to respect my elders." Nia stared at him for a moment.

"Elders?" After a moment of silence between the two, they both started laughing. Regan smiled a little at that before she started following after Jin and Pyra. She glanced back to make sure that Rex was following, and to her relief, he was.

They were very close to the entrance, when the metal door was suddenly busted open. A strange creature came skittering out of the ship, and Nia pulled the twin rings off of her belt. Nia looked back at Regan for a second, "No fighting for you at the moment. You don't need to cause any further strain to your hand." Regan said nothing and simply nodded in response. She would listen to that order for now but if Rex was in danger, she would not hesitate to protect him.

•°•°•

They had managed to make their way through a majority of the ship before they had any incidents. They're was a shark like creature standing before them, and Regan stayed close as the rest of them fought it. At first, they seemed to have little to no problem with it until it suddenly managed to sling Rex across the room with its tail.

"Rex!" Regan yelled which unfortunately caused the creature to turn its attention to her. Pyra and Jin did not even get a chance to say or do anything before it charged at her. She felt her back slam against the wall, and she winced in pain as her head smacked against the wall. Luckily before it could do anymore damage, Jin and Pyra managed to finished it off.

Nia and Rex, the latter of the two only having managed to receive bruises when he had been slung across the room, made their way over to Regan. "Dammit, I told you to be careful." Nia hissed out as she started healing both Regan and Rex.

"I'm fine. I've had worse...trust me." The Elf stated as she felt the the familiar energy as Nia healed her. All of sudden Nia paused for a moment- almost looking to be confused.

"Huh...but you..."

The Gormotti girl trailed off before she got up and walked over to where Jin and Pyra were standing. Both Jin and Pyra were currently giving Regan an odd look, and Pyra suddenly muttered to herself and Jin. "Huh, interesting... Why wasn''t she regenerating...?" Pyra sounded curious. Jin said nothing...his expression indicating that he likely did not know the answer.

"There, that's Addam's crest." Pyra stated as they all looked towards the door in front of them.

"You. Open this door." Jin said to Rex which caused the boy to shoot him a confused look.

"But why?" He asked, and Jin spoke again.

"This door...will only open to one of you people." Rex raised a brow.

"One of me? What do you-" Pyra swiftly cut the boy off.

"Just do it, Rex. It'll be fine."

The fifteen year old still looked a bit hesitant but nodded and went to examine the door. Regan walked up behind him before she spoke, "It's not that complicated of a mechanism... Just go with your gut." She stated before she watched as the door opened as Rex touched the seal. The most complicated thing was that you clearly had to be from Leftheria, but it was not that good of a lock since anyone from Leftheria could open it.

"Woah." Rex said before he walked forward to another door with crest on it.

"Just as I thought." Pyra muttered quietly as the floor behaved strangely under Rex's feet.

Both Regan and Nia attempted to follow Rex, but Jin's voice stopped them in their tracks. "Wait. There, open that door too." He said to Rex, and the boy nodded. Reaching his hand towards the seal, Rex succeeded in opening the next and last door.

"Wh-what is that thing?" Rex questioned.

Regan did not hesitate in catching up with Rex and found herself standing before an unconscious Malos. He was in some sort of a container, and his arms were crossed over his chest. She could only just barely see a hint of his core crystal peaking out due to the way his arms were crossed. Looking down, she spotted the familiar form of his Aegis sword on a pedestal in front of him. It looked the exact same as it had once did, and the purple, crucifix-shaped core crystal shined strongly on its hilt.

She was silent for a moment, unable to bring herself to look away from the sword. When she did look away from it and towards Rex, she barely managed to utter out a warning before he touched the sword. Regan heard Pyra telling Rex to stop, but it was already too late. The reaction the sword gave let Regan know that Rex had just unintentionally formed a bond with Malos. "Rex-"

She cut herself off in shock as the end of a very familiar sword was now stabbed through Rex's chest and directly through his heart. Regan had not even seen Jin move, and she only got a second to watch in horror when something hard hit the back of her head and knocked her face first onto the ground. "Don't take it personally, it's an act of mercy. At least you won't be alive to see what's coming." Jin stated before pulling the sword out which caused Rex's body to fall to the floor.

The masked man then swiftly destroyed Malos' sword, and it shattered into pieces. Turning his attention to Regan's unconscious form, he quickly hit Eva with the hilt of his sword which caused her small body to slam against the wall of the ship. The impact seemed to stun the Blade, and he raised his sword and turned Regan over. Jin aimed the sword at the center of her chest, and he already knew exactly the amount of force and where exactly to aim.

He was just about to bring the sword down when suddenly...he just stopped. His expression seemed to change, and he almost looked hesitant. "Jin...why aren't you-" Pyra cut herself off as he quickly put away his sword.

"Nia." He said, and she looked at him. Nia looked visibly shaken and had clearly been staring at Rex's body in shock.

"Wh-what...?" She asked before she watched as Jin suddenly lifted Regan into his arms.

"Dromarch, carry her. We're taking her."

"What?!! So first, you murder Rex for no reason and now you want to kidnap his friend?!!" Nia questioned, her ears pinned back in anger.

"Just do it, Nia. We'll explain later..." Despite Pyra's calm tone, the look on her face indicated that she actually felt a bit upset at how things had transpired. Nia shut her mouth at that and watched as Jin set Regan on Dromarch's back. Dromarch said nothing to this but looked upset.

"Nia, call the Monoceros." Pyra said.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Feeling dazed and confused, the boy found himself in an unfamiliar setting. It was a beautiful place, he had to admit. He honestly had no idea where he was, nor how he had got there. To be honest, he could not even remember his own name at the moment. Fields of green, beautiful blue sky, and trees adorned the scenery. Outside of that, he spotted only one other person there. It was a man, a very tall one he noted, wearing black plated armor and staggered plate pauldrons.

"Uh...excuse me?" He called out as he approached the man who he could clearly see was leaning against a tree.

The man was silent for only a moment before he suddenly spoke. "That sound...it hasn't stopped, except for one time." He stated which caused the boy to glance around.

"You...mean that bell sound? Is the Praetorium somewhere nearby...? Uh, what is this place?"

"This is Elysium...the place where long ago, man lived in harmony with their creator. It's where...we were born."

"Get out... Really?!!"

At that moment, the man finally looked down at him. The boy took this moment to take in the man's appearance. The man had jagged black hair and sort of unfriendly grey eyes. Considering how much taller the man was than him, the boy had to strain a bit to see the man's face properly. Something then compelled him, he was not sure what, to looked at the man's chest. That is when he saw the crucifix-shaped core crystal, that was deep purple in color.

"Is that a core crystal...? You're a...Blade?"

The man looked him over for a moment before speaking. "The name's Malos, kid." The tone of voice the man had was honestly more neutral than anything and was definitely less hostile than the boy had been expecting. Although, the man honestly still did not seem that friendly. Perhaps it was his eyes, but the boy could not be sure.

After a moment of silence, he came to realize that the man was waiting for him to introduce himself. "Oh... I'm uh..." He trailed off, unable to to locate something as basic as his name in his mind. Malos sighed and it was clear that he was a bit agitated.

"Your name's Rex."

Rex, that seemed right to him...but how could the man possibly know that...? Rex did not recall ever seeing this man before yet he somehow knew his name. "Oh, right... How did you know that, though...?"

"Just now, when you touched the sword."

He felt nothing but confusion at that. "Sword...? Sorry... I can't seem to remember how I got here." Rex stated, and took a moment to look around again. The man was once again silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

"You were killed...stabbed through heart by Jin." Malos explained, and the way he said Jin indicated that he was upset by something. "Killed...by Jin...?" Rex questioned out loud, and he wondered if it was really true. He simply stood there for a moment before something flashed in his mind. A disturbing scene of Jin stabbing him popped up in his mind.

Almost feeling nauseated, Rex suddenly held a hand over his mouth. "I remember now... That bastard stabbed me." He did not move at first before his eyes widened. "Oh, man...this is bad! Everyone in the guild is in danger...and Regan, what if they've already hurt her! I have to get of here... Wait, I can't do anything if I'm dead. Titan's foot, if I wasn't dead I'd kick that guy's arse!" Rex fell to his knees in the grass and hunched over, clearly devastated that he could not do anything.

Malos watched the kid for a moment before he spoke, "Rex, could you do something for me?" He asked which caused Rex to look back at him. "Will you take me to Elysium?" His words caused Rex to feel confused.

"Elysium...? But isn't that...here?"

"Unfortunately, this word is nothing more than a memory. The real Elysium lies in your world...atop the World Tree that rises from the heart of Alrest." Malos started and Rex got up from the ground.

"I'd love to help..." Rex suddenly trailed off and looked like he just remembered something. "But I'm dead, remember? How can I help if I'm not breathing?"

The Blade looked to be thinking before he motioned towards his core crystal. "It is possible for you to revived...and for that to happen, I will give you half of my life force... You will have to agree to one thing, however."

Rex raised a brow at that, "What is it?"

"You will become my Driver...the Driver of the Aegis."

"Driver...of the Aegis?" Rex asked.

"What the-" Rex said but then cut himself off as Malos' core crystal pulsed, almost like a heartbeat.

"Is this place really your home?"

"Yes."

"And it really exists?"

Malos nodded and told Rex something, "You really wanna save the world, kid? By going to Elysium, you can do just that...stop the the slow demise that is this world's fate."

Rex nodded, and he looked happy now. "Alright, I'm in. Let's go to Elysium."

"Okay. Now, place your hand on on my chest."

Confusion fell onto Rex's expression until he saw Malos' core crystal pulsed again. "Oh..." He muttered quietly before his eyes filled with determination and he raised his hand. Considering how tall Malos was, he had to stretch his arm a bit. Once he touched the crystal, a similar reaction to when he had touched the sword occured.

Even through the bright light, Rex could not help but notice that Malos' expression now looked a little pained.

When he was revived, Rex found himself back on the ancient ship. He looked down as a purple core crystal appeared in his hand, and the sword he had seen before materialized in his hand. Not too long after it had appeared the sword activated and a deep purple, almost resembling a dark flame, light came from the sword.

All Rex knew was that he had to hurry.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _Bonus Scene_ *

Regan quietly walked towards one of the many rooms in the castle, and a guard bowed their head to her. She bowed her head back and glanced down at the crucifix-shaped core crystal shining in the center of her chest. "Ant...how is she?" She asked as she entered the room, and her Driver glanced at her.

"It's not good... The doctor said that...she won't make it through the night..." Ant explained, and she held a newborn baby in her arms.

"I'm sorry..." Regan apologized and bowed her head. Her Driver was silent before setting the newborn down onto the bed. The baby was wrapped in blankets and her pale face peaked out from within the cocoon of blankets. "Is...there really nothing that can be done...?"

Ant let out a sigh, tears dripping down her cheeks. "No... The doctor said it's best to just make her as comfortable as possible... Dammit, I can't believe this is happening..." She got up from the bed and walked closer to Regan.

"Ant, you just gave birth a few hours ago...you need to rest." Regan advised, but Ant shook her head.

"How could I possibly rest while my daughter is dying before my very eyes...? How can I possibly tell Julian of his daughter's death when he returns...? How do I tell Raymond that his little sister will be in the ground before she ever gets a chance to grow up...?"

Regan looked down at the floor at that, "Ant, I..." She trailed off, unable to find anything else to say. Seeing her Driver in pain made her upset, and she wished to make it stop. Regan wished that Ant would not have to cry over her child...that the child would live.

"Ant...there's something I can do for her."

Ant looked down her daughter for a moment before she looked at Regan, "What...what is it...?" She grabbed at her Blade's shoulders, and she stared Regan directly in the eyes.

The Blade met her gaze with soft eyes, "In order for her to survive...I will give her my life force. She will live, but..."

"But what?"

Tears welled up in Regan's ocean blue eyes, "I will have to give her all of my core crystal." She explained, and Ant gasped in response.

"But...won't that kill you...?"

"As an Aegis, I can survive a short time without my core...but not for long."

"But...why would you...?"

"You're my Driver... At the end of the day, your happiness matters the most to me... I love you, Ant...and I wish that it did not have to be this way... I will not allow your daughter to die, just so I can stay with you... You are not going to change my mind."

Ant sobbed in response, "Regan..." The Blade said nothing else to her Driver and approached the currently sleeping infant.

Her core crystal started to glow brightly.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _I debated on whether or not to end the chapter here or allow the rest to stay in. In the end, I decided to end the chapter after Rex is revived. I'll try to get the next chapter up tommorow. I hope you enjoyed._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear_ *


	4. IV. Life Force Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After barely managing to hold off Mythra, two familiar people show up to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I apologize for how short this chapter is, and I plan to make the next chapter longer.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Four; Life Force Part Two//

"Nia...take care of them."

The Gormotti girl looked at Pyra in surprise, "What do you mean take care of 'em?" To be honest, it sounded she already knew but perhaps was just hoping that she was wrong. She took a quick glance to to Regan before she looked back at Pyra as the woman spoke.

"Now that we've finally obtained the Aegis...it's better that as few as possible know about it... In other words, the price for their lives have already been paid in full." Pyra stated, and she almost looked regretful about it. She took a quick glance up at her Blade, Sever, who was currently carrying the container that held Malos in it.

"I...I can't do that. These people haven't done anything wrong!" Nia exclaimed which caused Pyra to shake her head.

"Even so... Nia, you know as well as I do that they would not keep their mouths shut about this..."

Nia just shook her head, "No! You already murdered Rex and are kidnapping this girl... None of these people deserve to die...!"

The red head sighed at Nia, "I figured it would be like this... I'll handle it then." She said before she pulled out Sever's Sword Tonfa. Pyra let out a sigh but flinched when she saw Regan now in front of her.

"Killing innocents, that's just what I'd have expected from someone like you."

Pyra was a bit startled, considering that she had not even saw the other woman wake up or even move. "I don't know what you mean." The Elf shook her head at that.

"Sure you don't... Y'know, I didn't expect to see you ever again. After all, you should be dead...right, Mythra?" Pyra's eyes widened a bit at that before she suddenly smirked.

"Hah, so I see you finally figured it out." Then, with a flash of light, Pyra now had long blond hair and gold eyes.

"Pyra, what're you...?" Nia questioned, clearly surprised at the change in appearance.

Mythra said nothing to the Gormotti and simply smiled at Regan, "It's funny that you would dare stand up to me now... clearly, you're pretending to be something you're not. Yet you refuse to show your true self... Tell me...what are hiding from, Regan?" Despite the clear hostility radiating from her, Mythra seemed genuinely curious.

The Elf shrugged, "That's none of your business... Did you really think that I'd let you murder all of these innocent people?" Sadness fell over Regan's expression as she spoke again, "And Jin killed Rex... Rex was just a child...he didn't do anything to deserve that and neither did any of them."

The blonde laughed, "I will admit...I had considered not killing the boy but with you around, the risk was far too high."

Regan raised a brow at that before she barely managed to block as Mythra lashed out with the Sword Tonfa. Luckily for Regan, they had not taken the bow away from her. "That's quite soft for you, Mythra." The Elf commented.

The blonde smiled before swinging at Regan again, "Soft now, am I? That almost sounds like a compliment." Mythra responded before a golden glow came from her hand and she used it to break Regan's stance. The blonde took the opportunity, and Regan was hit firmly in the center of her chest and knocked to the ground.

"You didn't seriously think it would be that easy did you? I guess you're the one who's become "soft", Regan." Mythra said condescendingly, and she lifted the Sword Tonfa to make a final blow. She flinched as a loud noise erupted from where Sever was, and she quickly saw the dark flame engulfing the container that held Malos inside.

"No... How?!!" Mythra yelled out, and she watched as Sever threw the container onto the deck of the ship.

There was one final noise before the dark flame left the container and moved quickly and landed near Regan. The dark flame dissipated and Malos was now standing there. "Malos..." Regan said quietly before he suddenly held his hand out to her. "Get up, Snow. As much as I love saving you, I'd prefer if you'd stop being so reckless."

Regan said nothing, simply took his hand, and allowed him to help her up. "Thanks..." Her face turned a bit red, and she turned her head as she suddenly heard a very familiar yell. A hole of darkness appeared on the ship deck, and Rex jumped through it and onto the deck.

"Rex?!!" Nia exclaimed.

In Rex's hand, he held Malos' sword. "You and that sword...can't be!" Mythra yelled and took a step back.

The boy stood up straight which allowed Regan to properly see the purple x-shaped core crystal glowing in the center of his chest. Rex raised the sword and pointed it at Jin, "You know, it's kind of low to stab a man in the back...you bloody psychopath!" In response, Jin placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Mythra quickly shook her head at Jin, "No. I'll handle this." She stated before raising the Sword Tonfa to block Rex's attack. "End of the line, Rex. You really think I'd let you claim his power for yourself." The blonde stated before she pushed him back and slashed at him, but he managed to dodge.

Malos avoided Sever as the Blade lunged for him, and a ice shard struck his side. The Blade regenerated, but it seemed to distract him for a moment and Malos took the opportunity to kick Sever back. The Aegis looked around and glanced at Regan, "Thanks." The Elf nodded before drawing back the string again and turning her attention to Mythra and Rex.

"Who are you?!! You look different!" Rex yelled, and it was clear that he was confused by the appearance change.

"Give it a rest, Pyra! Can't you see he's just a child!" Nia called out, and it was evident that she was trying to reason with Mythra. The blonde did not respond at first before she smirked.

"A child? Don't make me laugh. This kid...has made himself the Aegis' driver!"

Nia looked shocked at that, "The Aegis' driver? Rex is...?"

"That's none of your business kid... Just for the record, that sword is just a bit too heavy for you." Mythra stated, and Rex paused for a second. The blonde did not hesitate to then knock him back and caused him to fall onto the deck of the ship. Sever suddenly left Malos and Regan alone and jumped up in the air just in time to catch the Sword Tonfa.

"You're done!"

Sever slashed the air and sent a burst of wind in an x-shape at Rex. Mere seconds before it hit his Driver, Malos quickly got in front of Rex and pulled up a shield. "Thanks, Malos." The Aegis almost looked annoyed at that.

"Next time, don't get caught off guard. Now, stay focused!" Malos ordered, and he was obviously annoyed at the boy's incompetence.

"I will." Rex responded before running towards Mythra with Malos not far behind. Her Blade sent another slash of wind at him, and Malos created another shield.

"Everyone, go now!" Rex yelled as he once again clashed with Mythra. The blonde looked annoyed and jumped out of the way as he attempted to strike her with Malos' sword.

Mythra jumped up, and Sever threw the Sword Tonfa to her. "I don't think so." She stated as she caught it, and it changed into a different shape as she prepared to attack the people attemping to run out her sight.

"Hey, you bully!" Rex said before sending a dark slash at her. The blonde barely managed to block the blow. Malos gripped the sword simultaneously with Rex, and Mythra could do nothing but watch as they brought the sword down together.

"Shadow buster!"

A shield from Sever prevented Mythra from even being stunned from the impact. "You foolish kid... How could a nobody such as yourself...?" She paused for a moment and stared at Rex's eyes. Her eyes widened in realization, "Those eyes...I definitely should have been more wary from the start. Especially when you had that girl with you."

"What do you mean...?"

Mythra smirked, "Why would I tell you that...when you're about to meet your end?"

Rex had no time to even react to the ball of light that formed in her hand before she knocked both him and Malos back and making them all fall onto the deck of the ship. "You okay?" Regan called out to them as she gripped her bow tightly. The fifteen year old nodded, and Malos responded. "We're fine. You stay back and wait until you can get a shot."

She nodded before she suddenly felt something. Looking, she quickly saw her affinity link with Eva buzzing back to life. The Blade flew out of the hole that Malos had created in the deck of the ship. Eva moved closer and flew close to her Driver, "We've got your back, you two!"

After a intense fight, they did not manage to do any significant damage to Mythra. Rex still was not willing to give up and jumped at Mythra with the sword held above his head. "You've got guts, Rex. I'll give you that... however." A ball of light appeared in Mythra's hand and she slammed him in the gut with it.

The blonde then turned and threw him across the deck, and Rex dropped the sword in the process. "Rex!" Regan yelled as a shield appeared and barely prevented Sever from hitting her.

"Don't think that just because you bonded with the Aegis that you can beat me!" Mythra rushed towards him after she yelled this, the Sword Tonfa in hand.

"Dromarch!"

"Yes, my lady!" Nia hurriedly jumped on Dromarch's back and rushed towards Rex. Dromarch let out a roar, and Mythra's head snapped in his direction.

"What the-" Mythra skid to a stop as Sever prevented the attack from hitting her.

She watched as Dromarch landed in front of Rex and stood in front of him. "Get out of the way, Nia...are you out of your mind?!!" Mythra questioned before her appearance suddenly went back to being that of Pyra.

Nia's eyes widened for a second, but she quickly shook her head. "You're the one who's lost their mind! Wailing on a child...!" She exclaimed, and she ignored the soft look that Pyra gave her.

The red head smiled, a way too sweet smile to be real. "C'mon, Nia...you know me. Are you really willing to protect this boy over fulfilling our goal...?" For a moment, Pyra almost seemed... genuinely upset.

Nia's ears drooped at that, "Look. I get it, but-"

"Y'know, I'm very disappointed in you Nia..."

The Gormotti girl's eyes widened in response before movement caught her attention. Malos grabbed his sword off the ground before he lunged at the red head. "Hah, you're doing pretty good for someone who's only just woken up." Pyra stated as she blocked the attack.

Malos gave her a curious look, "What's up with that appearance? I didn't think you were one to hide from your true self, Mythra." The red head smiled at that before her appearance changed again. She honestly looked tired now, almost like something was exhausting her.

"I could say the same thing for your girlfriend over there." Mythra said, and she knocked Malos back just enough so she could made some distance between them.

"Girlfriend?" He asked, and Mythra said nothing and pointed at Regan. The Elf was currently dodging multiple attacks from Sever.

"Who else would I be talking about?"

Mythra backed up more, and Malos heard Rex calling to him. "You don't know anything." The man stated, but Mythra simply smiled.

"I'd advise you pay more attention to your surroundings...before you get shot."

"Malos, look out!"

He managed to put his shield up just in time, but the constant impacts to it caused him to get knocked back. "Are you okay, Malos?" Rex asked as he ran over to check on the Blade. "I'm alright, kid. Get back!" The Aegis ordered as he realized that the black ship was going to fire on them again.

"Stop this!" Nia exclaimed as Dromarch ran in front of Rex and Malos. As the ship fired again, Dromarch created a shield. Rex ducked his head as multiple shots impacted the shield.

The ship's guns finally stop firing, but Nia's small figure flying off Dromarch's back caught Rex's attention. "Nia!" He yelled out before racing after and jumping off the ship after her. Rex barely managed to grab her hand, and he shot his anchor and prevented them from falling. He winced as he felt a sharp pain in his arm but ignored it and made sure to keep ahold of Nia.

"Sorry, Rex. You aren't getting away that easily." Mythra stated as she looked over the side of the ship at him.

Rex heard the mechanical sound and looked up only to see the ship's guns aiming at him and Nia. "Oh sh-" He cut himself off as fire suddenly struck the ship's guns.

"What?!!" Mythra yelled.

The boy stared at an approaching figure in the darkness, a large one. "Gramps!" He called out in surprise as the Titan flew by him and up above the ship. The Titan looked at both Mythra and Jin, his eyes widening as he saw the blonde.

Azurda shot a ball of fire at Jin, but the man somehow managed to be completely unscathed by it. "Rex, get on!" The Titan called out as he started flying back to Rex.

Malos looked over to Regan, who had finally managed to get away from Sever. "C'mon, we need to get out of here." The Elf nodded before she jumped on Dromarch's back. To her surprise, Malos did not follow. "Don't worry...I'll catch up."

She said nothing in response as Dromarch started running towards Rex and Nia's position. "Rex!" Regan held her hand out to him, and he quickly accepted it and was pulled onto Dromarch's back. The beast blade swiftly grabbed Nia in his mouth and leaped into the air. They did not fall far before they quickly landed on Azurda's back. "We're going, hold on!"

Regan held on tight, with Eva's arms wrapping around the back of her neck, and winced as she heard a thud behind her. She took a glance behind her and quickly spotted the familiar form of Malos. The Aegis said nothing, but he almost looked bothered by something...not by what was currently happening, but by something else.

"Shit..." The Elf muttered as the ship's guns started firing on Azurda, and she knew that the Titan was definitely getting hit. She closed her eyes, refusing to see any more of Azurda getting hurt. Regan knew she could do nothing but wait until they were out of the ship's range.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _Bonus Scene_ *

Her head felt like it was pounding, and she felt dizzy as she attempted to open her eyes. Regan flinched as her eyes opened, and she quickly snapped her eyes back shut as the bright light immediately hurt her eyes. "Easy, there...you're gonna strain yourself if you're not not careful." A male voice advised as she attempted to set up.

Only when he spoke did she realize that she was lying down on a makeshift cot. "I'm fine... Who are you?" Regan questioned as she finally managed to keep her eyes open. She took a moment to examine him, as he took a moment to respond.

He had short, dark red hair with dark brown eyes, and he had somewhat pale skin. His pointed ears and his very lithe figure indicated that he was most certainly an Elf. His dark armor was fairly light and judging by the knuckleclaws hanging from his belt, he was clearly a healer.

His blade, a fairly human looking one, had bright pink hair and dark pink, almost red eyes. Two cat-ear shaped horns jutted out of her skull and her hair was short and was cut to just above her shoulders. Her core crystal was in the shape of a hexagon and was in the center of her chest.

"I'm Ethan. I found you, just outside Dreamhollow cave... Did you hit your head or something...? I couldn't find any head injuries."

Regan looked away at that, "I think I did hit my head...maybe, it just wasn't that serious..." The man shrugged at that before he accepted the flask of water that his Blade handed him. "Thanks, Lucy." The Blade was silent but nodded in response.

"Perhaps... Anyway, you have a name?"

He handed her the flask of water after he had taken a sip from it. Regan held it for a moment before she finally drank a couple sips of the water. To be honest, she had not been too thirsty but she did feel a bit nauseated. "It's Regan... Thanks for helping me...but why...?" She questioned, and she handed the water flask back to him.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

Ethan walked over to the fire and kneeled in front of it. "Truthfully...I just help anyone I can. I wasn't about to just let you lay there." He stated as he put some more firewood in the fire.

"Wait... My Blade, have you see her...?"

The man shook his head, "Sorry...when I found you, you were all alone. What does your Blade look like?" Ethan asked, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"She has white hair, and she's about the size of a six year old child. She's wearing a light blue dress...and she looks like a fairy. Her element is ice." Regan described before the nausea she was feeling suddenly intensified. She leaned over one side of the cot and was unable to prevent herself throwing up.

After a moment of getting suck, she felt a hand rubbing her back. Regan looked up, only to see Lucy there. Despite the Blade's silence, she actually seemed to be quite caring. It did make sense, especially considering the fact that she was a healer. "Thanks..." Regan said softly and wiped at her mouth with the wet cloth that Lucy handed her.

"You okay?" Ethan asked before he walked towards them.

The woman shook her head, "I just...feel sick to my stomach... Been like that for awhile." She stated, and he nodded as he watched her for a moment.

"Uh... How long has this been going on..?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Just about a week now... Why?" Ethan looked like he came to realize something, but he just shook his head.

"Oh, it's nothing."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _I know this chapter was shorter than the last, and I apologize for that. I'd appreciate some feedback, since I'm honestly not very good at writing fight scenes. I hope you enjoyed._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


	5. Two in One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident on the ancient ship, everyone finds themselves on a Titan.
> 
> Then, after everyone finds each other, Regan reveals some of the truth about her to Malos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter is longer than the previous one, and I hope it's enjoyable.:)*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Five; Two in One//

"Stop them. Open fire!"

Mythra watched with anger in her expression as Azurda flew away with Malos with them. The man had even managed to taunt her before he had somehow managed to get on Titan's back without even giving her a chance to stop him. "Get them! Ready the canon!" She ordered as they were now getting farther and farther away.

"It's no use. They're out of range."

"Shit...they got away...!" Mythra practically growled out.

Jin watched her for a moment before shaking his head. "Turn around." He told her, and Mythra gave him a confused look.

"We're not chasing after them?"

"The Aegis has awakened, that's enough for now."

"That'll have to do..."

He turned around and started walking towards the black ship. "Hey, Jin...what do we do about her?" Mythra asked as she put away the Sword Tonfa.

Jin paused in his movements, "It's obvious that she won't allow us to take Malos but...something is different about her... She almost seems...human."

The blonde nodded, "Yeah... Maybe, we can use Rex as leverage. Clearly, she cares about the kid a lot... Hey, Jin...why didn't you kill her? Killing her would have made things a little simpler for sure." Jin was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.

"It was a promise..."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Regan could not recall anything after Azurda had flew away with all of them. Her head, that already hurt from when she had been knocked out, was pounding. She could not be sure, but she believed that she was resting on top of something. It was not soft by any means, and she was more confused about what it could possibly be than anything. Her eyes opened and at first, she was not sure what she was looking at. It almost looked like...armor.

The armor was black plated, and she looked up a little further and spotted the purple, crucifix-shaped Core Crystal. She knew then that she was most certainly lying on top of Malos, who was still unconscious. Regan raised her head until she could get a good look at his face. "Malos...?"

He did not respond, and Regan suddenly felt the urge to do something strange... something familiar. The Elf was silent as she hesitantly raised a hand and rested it on one side of his face. Malos moved a little, but he did not open his eyes. She watched him for a moment before she looked back at his Core Crystal. The center of it was missing, and Regan had no doubt that the missing part was now in Rex's chest.

"Y'know...it's been awhile since the last time you did that."

Her head snapped up at Malos, and he was awake now. It took her a moment to register what he said, but she eventually nodded her head. "Yeah..." She answered before her face flushed red as she realized that she was still on top of him. Regan hurriedly got off of him before she flinched as a sharp pain came from her head. Malos wore a confused expression as he got up from the ground and watched as she gripped her head in pain.

"Regan...?"

She was silent before she suddenly shook her head as she removed her hands from her head. "Sorry... I think Mythra hit me pretty hard on the head back on the ship..." Regan explained before she looked up at him. He was quite a bit taller than her, and she had to refrain from getting on her tip toes so she could be a little less short.

"Just pain, right...? Are you still injured?" He questioned as he took a pointed glance at her hand. Nia's poultice was still there, but her head had not yet been healed.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have a concussion...so at least we don't have to worry about that." She told him before she watched as he stepped closer. Regan was not sure what he wanted at first, but she realized as he suddenly hugged her. It was a bit strange, considering that Malos had never really been one for hugging people. He had always shown that he cared about people in other ways.

"Malos..."

He was quiet for a moment before he suddenly pulled away from her. It was only then that she noticed that something seemed wrong with his left shoulder as he moved his arm."We need to find the others." Malos told her as he looked around the area that they were in. "This place seems familiar... Gormott...? It has been five hundred years, so I can't be too sure."

The Elf glanced around before she nodded in agreement, "It's been a few years since I was last here...but yes, it's probably Gormott." She looked back at him and spoke again. "Rex is your Driver now. Can you sense him anywhere nearby?" Malos was quiet for a moment before he nodded.

"Yes. He's...somewhere in that direction."

Malos started walking towards the direction that he had sensed Rex in, and Regan quickly followed. They walked for little bit, while simultaneously avoiding any potentially hostile creature, and they finally heard the sound of someone crying. "That's probably the others. Come on!" She told him before running towards where the sound was coming from.

She avoided a Brog as she ran then stopped as she saw Rex kneeling on the ground in front of Azurda. It only took her a second to recognize just how badly injured the Titan was. "The days I've spent with you Rex, were the best days of my life...until we meet again..."

"No, Gramps!" Rex cried out as the Titan's body disappeared with flashes of blue light.

"Azurda..." Regan said softly before she then called out to Rex as she walked towards him. She was unable to walk any further when Rex suddenly turned, ran, and threw his arms around her. "Rex...?" The fifteen year old was still crying, and Regan wished that could help. She had never been very good at comforting people, especially when it came to death.

"Now, now... I told you not to cry...didn't I, Rex?" A somewhat familiar voice asked, and Regan wondered it was even possible. Rex either did not seem to hear the voice, or he simply ignored it.

"Rex...?" The voice called out again, and Rex still did not seem to react to it.

"Gramps...!"

The voice finally seemed to have enough and said Rex's name much louder. Rex, as the voice had finally caught his attention, removed his arms from Regan and turned around. At first, he did not see anything. On a hunch, he looked down and spotted a strange creature on the ground.

It was small, with its features somewhat resembling Azurda's. An object, that was most certainly a Core Crystal shone brightly in the center of its chest. Regan honestly had no idea what to say, and she almost considered the thought that she was dreaming. Malos had not said a word since Azurda had seemingly died and was now back, but he raised a brow in confusion. "What...? Gramps...h-how is th-that...?" Rex questioned as he stared down at Azurda.

"Use your eyes. Don't you recognize me?"

Regan finally moved to where she could see him more properly. It was definitely Azurda, but Regan wondered just how this had happened. She had never heard of a Titan doing such a thing, but she would wager that anything was technically possible. "Sorry, Azurda. You don't exactly look...the same as you did before."

"I am so confused right now." Rex stated.

•°•°•

"So you see, by maximizing cellular regeneration to retain all vital bodily functions...I seem to have reverted to a larval stage." Azurda explained.

"Well, that sounds quite handy. Must be nice, being a Titan and all." Rex wiped at his eyes, likely in attempt to cover up the fact that he had been crying.

Azurda flapped the small wings on his back and hovered in front of Rex. "This isn't something that just any old Titan can do!" The Titan stated before he noticed Rex's expression. "Uh, Rex...are you angry?" Azurda asked, and Rex closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not... I just didn't want you to see me blubbering like a baby." Azurda smiled at that.

"Oh, it's okay to be angry."

The fifteen year old opened his eyes to look at Azurda and decided to change the topic. "Just out of curiosity...how long will it be until you're back to normal?"

Looking thoughtful at that, Azurda responded after a couple seconds of silence. "Good question. No more than three hundred years."

Rex's eyes widened, "Th-three hundred years...? But I'll be long dead by then...!"

"Hmm... I suppose that's true."

"Wh-what about my house? Do I have to live on the streets...?"

"Perhaps this is a chance to finally fly the nest."

"And...pay rent?" Regan sighed as she saw Rex's face flicker with agitation. It was evident that Rex was not looking forward to having to pay rent.

"It's not that bad, Rex. It'd be good for you." Regan told him, and he looked surprised at that.

"It's a major extra expense..." Rex tried but let out a sigh and spoke in a softer tone. "Still... I'm glad you're okay, Gramps." The Titan gave a thumbs up in response.

"Anyway, we need to go ahead and find Nia and Dromarch." Rex stated.

Azurda tilted his head, "You mean that Driver and her Blade from before?" The boy nodded his head.

"Yeah... They kind of saved our lives."

"I hope Eva's with them... She's in that direction." Regan pointed towards the trail of broken trees. "I sure hope they're okay...they did risk their lives to save us."

"Yeah..." Rex said in response.

"I do recall crashing through many trees before I landed here... They probably fell off then." Azurda informed them.

"Well...the direction that Eva's in has a lot of broken trees. It's likely that she's with them. Let's go that way." Malos said, and Rex almost looked startled. She honestly could not blame Rex for being startled, for Malos had been silent the entire time since they had found Azurda.

"O-okay... That sounds like a good idea." Rex said before he looked at Azurda as the Titan suddenly spoke to him.

"By the way, Rex, is that a Core Crystal I see shining on your chest? Just what exactly happened to you?" Rex shook his head.

"We can talk about that once we find Nia and Dromarch. C'mon." Rex stated before picking Azurda up and putting him in the salvager's helmet.

"Huh, well this makes a nice change!"

The fifteen smiled at that before he noticed that Regan was staring at him, more specifically at his left shoulder. "What...?" He asked before he realized that she must have noticed.

"Does your shoulder hurt, Rex?"

He decided against lying to her, already realizing that she would see right through him. "Yeah... It's not dislocated though, so I'm fine. If it makes you feel any better... I'll ask Nia to take a look at it once we find them." Despite the fact that she was concerned, she nodded her head.

"You better."

•°•°•

"I hear fighting. Could it be?" Rex asked and looked up as Malos spoke.

"I feel a ripple in the ether. A Driver is using a Blade in battle. No doubt about it."

"That's gotta be them." Rex stated before he ran in the direction of the sound. Regan and Malos quickly followed behind him, and it did not take long for them to reach the location. Nia had the Twin Rings out with Dromarch standing by her side. To Regan's relief, Eva was fluttering in the air near them. A Brog was currently in the process of trying to attack them.

The Brog went to lunge at Nia, but Rex sent a dark slash at the creature. "Rex?" Nia questioned as she turned her head and spotted him and the others.

"We can talk later. Let's go ahead and take care of this." Rex told her, and Dromarch nodded in agreement.

"He's right, my lady. Now's the perfect time to attack."

It took little time to defeat the Brog, and Regan sighed once the Brog was dead. She felt a little bad, for she had always felt closely connected to all creatures. Regan had no problem with hunting; however, killing a living creature while not using all the parts, bothered her. In this situation, she understood. After all, the Brog had attacked them and had not looked willing to back down anytime soon.

"Why are you guys even... Well, I guess that's a stupid question." Nia said as she put away the Twin Rings.

"Indeed." Dromarch nodded his head.

"Anyway, good to see that you're all okay." Rex said as he put away Malos' sword.

"Right back at ya. Oh, by the way, what happened to the big guy that saved us?"

Azurda pulled himself up and peeked at her out from behind Rex's shoulder. "Are you talking about me?" Nia's eyes widened at that.

"What...? How?"

Rex looked a little sheepish.

"Well... It's kind of a long story."

•°•°•

"I see. So you are all off to Elysium then?"

Nia spoke again, to Azurda this time. "Listen, I never got to thank you properly...for saving us, I mean. Dromarch said you carried us all the way here."

"Indeed... We owe you a great debt, Titan. You saved our lives." Dromarch bowed his head.

The Titan gave a quick shake of his head, "No need to thank me. After all, you were the ones who saved Rex."

Nia looked away, almost looking to be embarrassed. "Don't mention it... Anyway, sounds pretty nice to be a Titan."

The Titan looked a little offended at that, "This isn't something just any old Titan-"

"You can retire that line now." Rex told him.

"Excuse me, I'd like less of that attitude. If you had just listened to me and Regan, we wouldn't be in this mess. 'Take a nap' you said, like I was some kind of doddery old man."

"You are a doddery old man, Azurda." Regan stated but looked away from him as the Titan gave her a 'stay out of this' look.

"Okay, okay. I know what a terrible disappointment I am... Look at how sorry I am!" Azurda looked very unamused at Rex's words.

"Can you not even muster a shred of sincere remorse...?"

"Sorry but I can't."

"What?"

"If I hadn't taken the job, they would've gotten Malos. No way that they can ever take him." Malos' eyes visibly widened at this. It was clear that he was surprised at Rex's words.

"Even still... If you hadn't touched the sword, or if it did not react to you...there would have been nothing that could've saved you." Rex flinched a bit at Regan's harsh tone, and he knew that she was really upset. He could not blame her for being upset, and he wished that he had listened to her...even so, he did not regret actually accepting the job. He just wished that he had more carefully taken her feelings on the matter into consideration.

"Sorry... Uh, Reg...?"

Regan tilted her head, "What is it?"

"Uh... What happened after I...?" He could not bring himself to say killed, but she already knew.

"I'm not sure...but I think that Mythra knocked me out... It's a bit odd that Jin didn't kill me though..." Regan explained.

"Pyra did. I was surprised that you even woke up back on the ship...she hit you pretty hard." Nia stated before she looked at Rex as he spoke.

"Wait. Which one is it...Pyra or Mythra?"

Nia shrugged, "She never changed her appearance like that before... She seemed completely different though."

"Her name was originally Mythra... I have no idea why she would have created a completely separate personality and appearance..." Malos told them.

"So, she created Pyra as a separate personality and appearance... But...how can she do that...?" The fifteen year old questioned.

Regan let out a sigh and looked down in response. "Let's talk about this after we get some rest...okay?" The boy looked at her expression for a moment before he finally nodded.

"Okay."

•°•°•

As he looked around at the scenery, Malos could not help but let thoughts run through his mind. He glanced behind him at Regan, who was currently sleeping with her back facing towards him. Malos honestly had no clue what was going on with her...he thought that it might be something similar to his situation with Rex. Even if that was the case, it did not explain her current appearance.

Regan also seemed to be acting way different, considering the fact that she seemed to be a lot more flustered around him. It had been five hundred years, but it was still strange to him. Her appearance reminded him a lot of Mythra's change in appearance. He also knew that Regan was deeply affected by something; however, he was not sure what exactly that something was.

His arm still hurt, but he refused to tell anyone about it. He knew that Regan had likely noticed; however, he was reluctant to bring it up to her. Malos knew that he was now vulnerable to receiving injuries that would not heal. He was also aware that Regan had probably noticed that both him and Rex had hurt their left shoulders.

"Hello. Still awake I see."

Malos looked to his right and spotted Azurda fluttering towards him. The Titan hovered in the air next to Malos. "I just...can't sleep." It was the truth, as he was far too preoccupied with his own thoughts to sleep.

"I see."

The Aegis looked down at the ground, "I have to admit...it's nice to see you again, Azurda." The Titan nodded his head, and Malos looked back in his direction.

"Likewise. Although...you have changed a lot since our last meeting, Malos."

"There are things I can't let go... You're probably already aware of that, aren't you?"

"Indeed... Listen, I wanted to thank you for saving my dear Rex...and I have to know. What you told him...is that what you really intend?"

Malos nodded, "Yes... However, I do have a couple more goals now."

The Titan gave a look of realization, "Jin and Mythra." Malos gave another nod before he let out a sigh.

"In truth, I would prefer to just talk to Jin... Considering what he did back on the ship; however, fighting him may be the only option...especially since he's working with Mythra."

"That's very true... And you plan on letting Rex be involved in all this...?"

Malos looked back down at the ground, "I'm not blaming you. No matter how much you tried to stop him, that boy would've found some way to get involved." Azurda said while looking back at where Rex was sleeping.

"He's very stubborn." Malos commented, and he had no doubt that Azurda was being truthful with him.

"True." Azurda said before he took a quick look at Malos' Core Crystal. "Huh, I see half your core is missing... Seems you've taken on quite the burden."

"Azurda, I-"

"Promise me that you'll look after Rex."

The Aegis visibly froze at that, and he looked shocked and worried. His eyes widened a bit, and he finally decided not to just settle for saying yes. Malos genuinely did not like the idea of promising to keep Rex alive. To be honest, he should just say that he would try. Something snapped in him in that moment.

"I make no promises... If you hadn't noticed, I have a tendency to get people killed." The words spilled out with sorrow and guilt in his tone. Azurda almost appeared to be shocked at the words and said nothing else before flying away. The Aegis wanted to keep Rex safe; however, he refused to make any promises. Promises were nearly impossible to keep, and he was not going to risk making one.

He took one more look at the scenery before he turned and lied on the ground near Regan. Malos made sure not to be too close, for he would rather not startle or make her uncomfortable. He stole a glance at her and took a moment to look at her sleeping form. Regan was no longer wearing the light green armor; rather, she was now just sleeping in her under armor. After he looked away, he then remembered her words to him before she had gone to sleep.

"I know I owe you an explanation...come talk with me tonight. I promise to explain." It was strange, but he found himself curious. Malos knew that something was off; however, he knew that she meant no harm. He had always been very good at reading her. He wanted to knew just what exactly was going on with her. After a moment, he finally shut his eyes.

•°•°•

He expected to be in the memory version of Elysium, but he was in a completely different place instead. The very large building in front of him very much resembled that of a castle. Malos inspected the scenery around him and found that many trees were prominent here. He then finally spotted a banner on the side of the castle, and an emblem was on it. Malos honestly did not know which country the emblem belonged to.

"Elvuen." A familiar voice said from behind him. Malos quickly turned around only to see two people standing side by side. The one on the left had snow white hair and the other had reddish brown hair with a single snow white streak. Both of them had ocean blue eyes; however, their eyes displayed completely different emotions from one another. They were both Regan.

"What-" Malos started, but he was interrupted by the one on the left.

"That's the emblem of Elvuen."

"This is Elvuen, then...? But...why here...?"

The one on the right shrugged, "This is my home... Since meeting Rex, I don't often go back home." She explained before the two them stepped closer to Malos.

"Are...are you just another personality she created...?" He questioned as he looked pointedly at the one on the right. She let out a soft laugh before she shook her head.

"I mean, we are different people...but I'm not just a another personality and appearance that she created. In fact, everything except that white streak and one other thing is the appearance that I was naturally born with."

At Malos' silence, the one on the left spoke. "She's Ant's biological daughter, Malos. Her life was to be ended quickly the day she was born, so I gave her my Core Crystal." She explained before she placed a hand on her Core Crystal for a moment. This movement turned his attention to her Core Crystal, and he quickly realized that the center piece of it was missing...much like his.

"You gave her half, right?" She shook her head.

"No... I gave her all of it."

"But...why is the center of your Core Crystal missing then...? And how are you even still alive if you gave her all your core?"

The one on the right spoke again, "Essentially, her soul lived on since her Core Crystal is currently in the center of my chest... As for why half of it missing...it's the same as your situation with Rex."

"Then... Who has the other half?"

"A close friend of mine... He's a mercenary at the moment." She explained.

"You... Do you mind telling me his name?"

The white haired one looked surprised at that, "I'm surprised that you want to know that... Regan, what do you think?" She asked as she looked over to the one on the right.

"It's fine with me." The other one stated before she let out a sigh. "Just so you know, he's an Elf like me. He's one of the closest friends that I've ever had, and I trust him with my life. His name is Ethan, and when he was dying I gave him half of the Core Crystal... Ironically, much like Rex, he also received a fatal wound to the heart."

"It seems awfully risky to not have him by your side..."

"It is. We used to stay closer together, but he joined some mercenaries in Uraya...and I refused to join with him."

"Why'd you refuse?"

She looked down at her feet, "For one, mercenary work is high risk. Two, I'd much rather actually help people by traveling to different places on my own rather than being apart of a mercenary group... Three, my family pleaded with me not to join."

"I see..."

The two girls looked at each other before they looked back at Malos. "So...is there anything else that you want to know...?" The one on the left asked. Malos appeared to think for a moment before he answered.

"Yeah, actually... Why didn't you just give her half of your life force?"

The white haired one looked down at that, "It's...complicated." She said simply.

She was definitely hiding something.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _Bonus Scene_ *

The room was cold...that's all Regan could think about as she slowly started regaining consciousness. She managed to open her eyes after a moment, and she quickly realized that the room was very small. The room was fairly dark, and the only thing allowing any light to be in the room at all was a window that was somewhat covered by curtains.

Regan looked around and attempted to move, but she could not move. She struggled for a moment before she can to the realization that she had been tied to a chair. The ropes tied around her wrists and ankles were tight, and she knew that escaping would not be easy. She also realized that she was wearing nothing more than her underwear, which was what she had fell asleep in. It scared her to know that someone had kidnapped her while she was sleeping.

She tugged at ropes a bit movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Regan looked in the direction it had come from, and she took notice of someone just standing there. Looking at them for a moment, her eyes widened as they took a step closer. They just stepped close enough to where she could see their face. Regan's posture relaxed as she recognized them.

"Drew... What is this this place? Why am I tied up...?" She asked, and she took note that he did not look hurt at all. Regan figured that he had likely broken in stealthily to wherever she was held captive. It was a bit odd that he was just standing there instead of helping her. The man was quiet for a moment before he suddenly chuckled.

"Drew...?"

He still did not say a word and instead walked closer to her. It was then that she noticed the knife he was holding in his left hand. Regan quickly recognized it to be that of his hunting knife, and she hoped that he was coming to cut the ropes currently binding her to the chair. Once he got close enough to be able to cut her binds, he stopped moving and finally spoke.

"You know, I always thought that there was something off with you. I always had a hunch about it... Now, I know for sure." He stated as he motioned towards the center of her chest. The Core Crystal shined strongly on her chest, and Regan froze as he suddenly raised the knife and place the tip of it on the core.

"Dr-Drew, what're y-you-"

She cut herself off abruptly as he applied pressure to the Core Crystal. "Huh... I wonder what'll happen if I break it? Normal Blades can't survive without their Core Crystal; however, an Aegis is far from being a normal Blade." She was speechless at that point, and she was terrified that he would actually break it.

Drew had always been one to joke around, but she knew that he would not dare joke about something like this. He was completely serious...and that scared her more than the knife he was pressing against her Core Crystal. The man suddenly moved his other hand to run through her hair. The gentleness of it caught her off guard for a moment, but she flinched as he gripped her hair tightly in his right hand.

"Feris got your tongue there, Aegis?" He asked before he moved the knife and pressed it against her throat. The cold metal against the soft, warm skin of her throat naturally caused her to shiver. She instantly regretted not stopping the movement, but it was too late. The blade of the knife nicked her throat. A little bit of blood dripped down her throat, and she could do nothing but let out a small whimper.

All of a sudden, the only door leading into the room opened. "Got impatient, did you?" A black haired woman asked as she walked into the room. A scar ran along the left side of her face, and it was most likely caused by a severe burn. She walked fairly close to them before she stopped and crossed her arms. Regan quickly took note of axe hanging from the unknown woman's belt.

"Well, she's not even saying anything anymore. I expected her to beg for her life by now." Drew responded and he removed the knife from Regan's throat; however, he kept his firm grip on her hair. The woman nodded before she motioned for him to move away. He complied and released his grip on Regan's hair before he backed away.

"Hmm, that's a bit surprising... As much as I'd like to cut her, let's wait until tommorow. Give her some time to change her mind. After all...she knows exactly what we want." The woman stated before she pulled her axe off of her belt and raised it. Regan's eyes widened, but she had no time to react as the woman swiftly knocked her out.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _This chapter took me a while to get written, so I apologize for the delay. I'd like to thank everyone who's read this story and everyone who has commented. I appreciate any feedback you can give me, and I'll try to respond to comments as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


	6. VI. Aptitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After making their way to Gormott, the group finds themselves surrounded and three of them are captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning: this chapter is fairly long, over 6000 words. I debated on splitting this chapter into two part but decided against it.*
> 
> *Just so everyone knows, I have no plans to stop updating this. I don't have a set schedule for it, but I'll try not to space out updates with more than a couple weeks in between them.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Six; Aptitude//

Despite the fact that he knew that Regan was hiding something, Malos talked with her and the other Regan until morning. When he awoke, he noticed that he and Nia were the first ones awake. Regan was still asleep, and he decided against waking her. The Gormotti was currently stretching, and she let out a yawn. She did not seem to be aware that he was also awake.

He honestly had not spoken to her even once, but he was curious as to why she would have been with Mythra to begin with. Nia seemed nice, and it seemed likely that she had not been made fully aware of just what Mythra had planned on doing along with Jin. The Aegis watched her for a moment before he finally let out a sigh and got up.

Initially, he had no plans to tell anyone about his injured shoulder...since it would definitely raise more questions that he would really rather not have to answer. After a moment of consideration, he decided to ask Nia to heal him before the others would wake up. Despite his muscular and tall build, Malos could be surprisingly stealthy when he wanted to be.

Nia turned to face him but nearly took a step back in surprise as she saw him walking towards her. She almost looked a bit frightened, not that Malos blamed her for that, as he approached. "Do you want something?" The girl asked as he had stopped walking towards her. Hesitation flickered over his expression for a moment before he finally nodded.

"I need something to be healed...it's starting to annoy me." Malos informed her as he revealed his bruised shoulder, that definitely looked to almost be dislocated. The Gormotti just stared at his shoulder for a moment, and she looked genuinely confused. After a couple more seconds of silence, Nia's eyes suddenly widened.

"But you're a Blade...and that injury is the exact same as Rex's..." Malos nodded in response, and he knew that he would have to explain. She followed him a little farther from the camp, so no one else could see the truth. "Okay, are you goin' to explain what's goin' on...?"

"Sharing half my life force with Rex did not just bring him back to life...it essentially tied our lives together. Basically, if he dies...I die too."

She was still silent before she looked down at Dromarch, who did not say anything but he nodded at her. "So, you share injuries...? That's...incredible. I've never heard of such a thing before. Is this just an Aegis thing?" Malos once again nodded his head.

Nia said nothing more and just started healing his shoulder. It was a bit strange to him, considering that it was actually his first time being healed. As she healed him, he felt something odd, energy that was not coming from her Blade. His eyes widened in realization, but he did not say anything at first.

"Okay... Does that feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, then... Um, do you plan on tellin' Rex about this?" Nia asked, and she looked surprised as Malos shook his head.

"But...shouldn't he know about this? I mean, he should definitely know that any lethal injury could potentially kill the both of you."

He shrugged before he started walking back towards the camp. Malos knew that she had no reason to keep it a secret, and that she would tell Rex unless he could find something to hold above her head. Luckily for him, he had already figured out just what he could use. The Aegis all of a sudden just stopped and tilted his head back in her direction.

"Let's keep this between us, alright? Otherwise...I just may let your little secret slip." Malos stated, and he saw her eyes widen even more than they had earlier.

"What, how do you...?"

He said nothing back and simply continued to walk back to camp.

•°•°•

It took barely any time to get back to camp, since they had not gone very far away from it. When he returned, he found Regan putting on her armor. Malos paused for a moment and took note that her hair was now tucked into a braid. He honestly could not really blame her for that, since the length of her hair could definitely cause some trouble for her.

"You have fun with Nia?" She asked after she had finished putting on her armor, and he almost stepped back in response to the sudden question. Malos had not even realized that she had noticed his presence. The Elf turned to face him, and he honestly could not decipher her current expression. It was completely unknown to him just what exactly that expression meant.

"What do you mean...how long have you been awake...?" He questioned, and he realized that she had likely been awake since he had woken up.

"Long enough to hear about your injured shoulder... You ever planning on telling Rex about this?" She questioned; however, Regan's expression indicated that she already knew his answer.

"No...it's better if he isn't aware of this."

The scoff she let out told him that she was not happy with his response. Regan seemed very upset about something, and he almost felt a bit wary at the harsh look in her eyes. "Really now? Tell me, what's he supposed to think when he inevitably finds out? How the hell is he supposed to trust you, if you won't even tell him the truth?"

"He won't find out."

She glared at him in response, "Sure he won't..."

"He won't... Anyway, I could say the same about you." Malos stated, and he crossed his arms.

"That's different..."

He shook his head, "Is it really that different? At the end of the day, you're lying to him just as much as I am."

Her face turned red as she spoke, "So? I have my reasons for not telling him." She said, and she did not notice that Nia and Dromarch were now witness to the argument.

"Yeah...and I have my reasons for not telling him the truth. It's no different... outside of the fact that you you've apparently known Rex for two years, yet you still hide it from him." He stated, but she said nothing now. Malos had no idea what had caused this argument to occur, and he found himself wondering if he had said something wrong.

"Is something wrong, Regan...? I know I can be blunt sometimes, but you know I don't mean any harm by it." It was his best attempt at an apology; however, he got the feeling that it was not enough.

"You...you really think that's what I'm upset about? Malos...you have no clue what I'm mad about, do you...?" Regan asked him as she looked down at the ground.

"What?"

She looked back up at him and let out a sigh. "I thought she was joking about how oblivious you can be sometimes..." Regan muttered quietly before she spoke again. "It doesn't matter... I'm sorry for getting all worked up over that." She stated before she suddenly flinched in apparent pain. Malos looked her over and quickly spotted the cut on the right side of her face.

Much like the previous time, the cut looked like it had just appeared. He knew the truth now, but it did not make it any less weird to say injuries just appearing when she had not even been touched by anything. It would be less strange, if the man she called Ethan was here with them, as at least then they would know what caused him to get injured.

"Shit..." Regan said softly before she raised her hand and touched the cut gently. She winced a bit but let out relieved sigh as she realized that the wound was not that serious. She would still need to get Nia to check it out, but she knew it was just a minor injury. Malos just gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head at him.

"I'm fine, Malos...it's nothing."

She looked around for a moment before she noticed that Azurda was awake and presumably stretching his wings. Her eyes darted down to Rex, who was surprisingly still asleep. She let out a sigh before she grabbed something out of the pouch that hung from her belt.

By the way she was standing now, Malos could not see just what she was holding in her hand. He saw her ask Azurda something quietly and after a moment of talking with each other, Regan finally gave Azurda the object she was holding. All he could see was the soft blue glow coming from it, and he could only guess what it was. Regan then walked over to Rex's currently sleeping form.

"Rex, time to wake up."

•°•°•

"I think it's about time that we out. We should probably try to find a town first." Rex stated before he looked around the area that they had made their camp in. "But before that.. Anyone have any idea where we are?" He asked and looked at Nia as she spoke.

"This is Gormott, a province of the Ardainian Empire." Nia told them. "You must've seen the Gormott Titan before?"

"Yeah. Only from a distance, though."

"We're somewhere around its belly." Nia stated.

"So this is Gormott, huh?" Rex asked, and he looked at Nia for a moment. He examined her features for a couple seconds before his eyes focused on her cat-like ears. His eyes widened, "Wait, hang on a minute... Nia, your ears, are you Gormotti?"

Nia crossed her arms, "Well done, genius. Took ya long enough." She stated, and Dromarch took to explaining it a little more.

"Gormott is the land of my lady's birth."

"Wow, that's reassuring."

"If we want to find a town, the first step is to get out of this forest. Then, we keep heading up and we'll hit the plains soon. The town's that way."

"Alright then." Rex said before he started walking ahead of everyone.

The Elf sighed and started following him. With everything that had everything, part of her felt that she was just being paranoid. She had a bad feeling, but she had no idea what was to happen nor if she could do anything to prevent it. Regan hoped that her gut feeling was wrong, and that nothing would happen.

"You okay?" Eva asked softly as she perched herself on her Driver's shoulder. Her Driver said nothing and simply nodded her head in response. She knew that Eva would not believe that, but she refused to to tell her Blade the truth. It would only serve to upset Eva, and that was not something that Regan wanted.

"You think we can make it up there?" Rex asked as he looked up and at the large mass of vines that could act as something to help them reach the top of the ledge. He was surprised when Regan walked passed him and easily managed to climb her way up the vines and pulled herself up and over the ledge.

"Regan...?"

"I'm okay. It's not that hard of a climb." She stated, and Rex did note that she had climbed it with minimal effort. It was likely that she had done this often enough to where it barely affected her.

"I mean, it's not that far..." Rex responded before he started climbing up the vines to catch up with her. The climb, much like she had said, was not that difficult. Despite the ease of the climb, Regan still held her hand out to him once he was right at the top. He accepted it and looked down as Eva simply flew up and fluttered in the air next to Regan.

"Hey, that's not fair..." Rex said to himself quietly before he watched as Malos started climbing the vines. It could be just his imagination, but Malos seemed to have a bit of trouble while climbing the vines. It was likely due to the weight of his armor, but Rex could not be too sure.

"Okay... How are we gonna get Dromarch up here?" Regan asked after all of them except for Dromarch were now at the top.

"It's alright. I can climb it." The Blade stated before he somehow managed to to climb up the vines. He took a little more time than the rest of them did, but that definitely was to be expected. Once Dromarch made it to the top, all of them headed further up and through a tunnel.

They had to take out some hostile Arachno in the tunnel, but they successfully managed to get out of the tunnel.Once they exited the tunnel, they were greeted by a gorgeous landscape. In the distance, they were able to see the town that Nia was referring to.

"That's quite a nice view, I have to admit." Malos muttered quietly as his eyes scanned th visible landscape. It had been about five hundred years since he had been to Gormott, so it had obviously changed quite a bit since he had last saw it.

"It is." The Elf responded, and he now realized that she was standing next to him. Despite their earlier argument, she no longer seemed to be upset. Something was still off about her, but he was relieved that she at least was not mad at him anymore.

"That's Torigoth. Largest city in Gormott." Nia explained as she motioned in the direction of it.

"I'll take you into the town and show you to the inn. After that...I'm afraid you're all on your own." She almost looked a bit sad as she said this; however, it seemed that she was determined that it would be this way.

"On our own... You're not coming with us?" Rex questioned as he turned to face Nia.

"Of course. I thought even you'd know why I can't be seen with you." The Gormotti stated, and Rex looked confused at this.

"Because you're supposed to be one of them...?"

"To be honest, I haven't known them very long... Even so, they're still my crew." Her words seemed strained, so it was a wonder as to why she would force herself to say them. Rex was baffled at this, wondering how the hell she could still consider them her crew considering how quickly they had turned on her.

"Your crew? Even after they tried to kill you...?" He questioned, and she looked down at the ground in response to this.

Her demeanor indicated that she had been closely attached to them and found it difficult to simply discard them. Despite this hesitation, she had still protected them...so Regan found herself unable to be mad at Nia. The Elf knew what it was like to trust someone so deeply and how hard it was to simply let go.

"That as may be...but they're the closest thing I have to a family."

"Nia..." Rex said softly, but she cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"Anyway, we should go ahead and get to the city." The Gormotti told them before she started walking down the path they were on. Everyone else followed while looking around at the scenery. The wide open plains were filled with various different animals, along with lots of plant life. It was beautiful, yet it was also deadly. While some of the creatures were passive, many were hostile and attacked on sight.

They made a lot of progress and were nearing the city before a cry for help caught everyone's attention. "Come on, we should try to help them." Rex stated as he made his way to the source of the noise. After they found the source, they discovered a Nopon being attacked by a few Volffs. They quickly took out the Volffs and started to talk to the Nopon.

"Hey, there... Are you hurt?" Regan asked as the Nopon got up and looked at all of them.

"No. Tunini is unhurt, thanks to all of you. Volffs attacked Tunini while on way to Torigoth." The Nopon stated, and Rex raised a brow at that.

"Huh... By the way, why were you heading to Torigoth? Are you a merchant?" He asked.

"Tunini was heading to Torigoth with an Armu laden with Gormotti makeup that is sure to be a big hit in the shops!" The Nopon explained, and she suddenly grabbed something and gave it to them.

"Here's fine samples of products as thanks for helping Tunini." The Nopon said, and Rex nodded in thanks before tucking the items into his bag.

"It's no problem. Just try to keep out of danger from now on." Rex advised and then offered the Nopon a smile before turning around. He paused as he noticed Malos standing there. The Blade was watching him, a strange look in his eyes. Rex could not be sure, but Malos almost looked to be recalling something. The Aegis said nothing and after a moment of watching Rex, he suddenly let out a huff and looked away.

"What did I do...?"

Rex questioned as Malos walked past him and in the direction of Torigoth. The boy glanced over at Regan, who simply shook her head at him. "Just leave him be, Rex." She said simply before she patted Rex's shoulder and quickly followed after Malos with Eva hovering by her side the whole time. The fifteen year old sighed before Nia and he followed them.

•°•°•

"The Cloud Sea has risen...so the area we started off in is off limits now... Right, Nia?" Rex asked as they had now arrived just outside of Torigoth. The Gormotti nodded in response and nodded towards the Cloud Sea. The tide had indeed risen to the point to where their starting point was inaccessible at the moment.

"That's right. The Gormott Titan is very sensitive to the changing tides of the Cloud Sea, much like Mor Ardain and Elvuen." Nia answered, and Rex nodded.

"I see." The fifteen year old said before he turned to Regan. "Hey, Reg... What is Elvuen like?" He asked, and Regan raised a brow at him.

"Well, Elvuen's climate is much like Gormott's. The forest there was pretty much where I spent all my time as a child...but over the years, the Elvuen Titan has become much hotter and there are less trees than before. It's not nearly as hot as Mor Ardain, but it's hotter than Gormott for sure."

"Oh... Maybe we can go there one day."

The Elf smiled at that, "Yes, one day. For now though, we have more important priorities." The boy nodded in agreement to that and looked at Malos to see if the Blade had anything to say. He swore that he could see a smile on Malos' lips, but it did not last long enough for Rex to be sure. Rex wondered why Malos did not speak that often, especially since they had escaped from the ancient ship.

"This is Torigoth, huh? It's pretty awesome." Rex said as they paused at the entrance to Torigoth.

"Agreed." The Elf stated, and she looked at Nia as the Gormotti spoke.

"It hasn't changed a bit..." Nia looked down at the ground with an sad look in her eyes.

"Nia?" Regan asked, and Nia quickly looked up from the ground. The Gormotti quickly shook her head.

"It's nothing."

The Elf looked like she did not believe it, but she decided to just leave it alone. Nia cleared her throat, "C'mon. I'll show you to the nearest inn, then I'm outta here." The Gormotti stated before she started walking into the the city. The rest of them followed her and made their way into Torigoth.

On their way in, Nia paused as she passed three wanted posters that were pinned to the notice board. The poster on the left was of Jin, the one in the middle was of Pyra, and the on the right was...Nia herself. She was not surprised to see their wanted posters at all; rather, she was shocked to see that her face was portrayed much more like Dromarch's than it was in reality.

"What the bloody hell is this?! Don't tell me this is supposed to be me!" She exclaimed, which caused the others to stop and look to see just what exactly had upset her.

"A remarkable likeness to say the least." Dromarch stated but quickly regretted it as Nia glared at him.

"Oi, did you say something?"

Her Blade flinched and shook his head, "Ah, no... I'm afraid they must've inflated our countenances, my lady. How very awful..." Nia made a sound that very much resembled that of a hiss and tore up the poster with her nails until it practically shredded.

"What was that about...?" Rex questioned as Nia walked passed him. The Gormotti did not get far before she suddenly stopped as spotted a large group of people. Some Ardainian soldiers were in the center of them and standing behind a table. On the table, sat a Core Crystal.

"What's going on?" Rex asked as he saw all the gathered people.

Nia sighed, "Driver recruitment."

He turned to her, "Driver recruitment?"

"Recently, they've been recruiting from all over." She explained before Dromarch spoke after her.

"The pool of potentials is ever waning. They must've run out of candidates in the military." The beast Blade informed them.

"What do mean potential...?" The fifteen year old questioned.

"Just see for yourself." Nia said and led them closer to the crowd. The Ardainian soldiers, just like Nia said, were currently trying to recruit Drivers. They watched a older man shoved a younger one to the ground and stomped forward and touched the Core Crystal. Regan cringed as she watched and suddenly looked away as a horrible feeling hit her.His screams of pain let her know that he did not successfully resonate the Core Crystal.

"Yeah...he's done for." Nia said sadly.

"Indeed." Azurda stated.

Regan opened her eyes as she heard a thud and saw the man's blood stained face. Two of the Ardainian soldiers hauled the man's arms of their shoulders and hauled him away.

"All bark and no bite. What a shame." One of the soldiers said as they dragged the man's lifeless body away.

Rex looked visibly alarmed at this, "Wh-what just happened...? All that blood..."

"That is what happens when someone unqualified touches a Core Crystal." Dromarch explained, and Rex's expression became a mix of confusion and surprise.

"You need qualification to be a Driver?"

Azurda looked at the fifteen year old, "Perhaps 'aptitude' would be a better word for it."

The young man from earlier was suddenly called out by the Ardainian soldiers. As he went to go up to them, the children that were behind him tugged on his arms. "Listen to me. Your big bro is goin' to be a Driver...then we'll be set for life." They heard him say, but one of the kids yelled out no. He ignored it and raised his hand to the Core Crystal. Much like the previous man, he started screaming. This time; however, the scream sounded different.

"There's your aptitude." Nia stated before the young man stopped yelling and his body glowed. With a shining light, the Core Crystal transformed into a lance. He grabbed it before turning around as a common male blade materialized in front of him.

"I-I did it!" The young man called out and the children that had been trying to stop him at first, presumably his siblings, cheered at his success.

"The Core Crystal turned into a weapon?" Rex asked as the young Gormotti man was led off by the soldiers.

"That is how Blades are born, Rex." Azurda explained, and the fifteen year old glanced at Malos in confusion.

"But when I touched Malos Core-"

Nia shook her head at him and cut him off, "He's a special case. Malos is the Aegis, remember?" Rex nodded to her words so she continued, "So the usual rules don't apply. All that stuff about sharing his life force...it's not exactly normal."

"Wait... What does the 'Aegis' even mean? Jin and Mythra, they called Malos that too."

The Gormotti girl shook her head, "I dunno. All I know is that it's some kind of legendary Blade... Why don't you just ask him yourself?" Rex look over at the Aegis, who was was still watching the crowd of people.

"Come on. No point in sticking around for the enrollment ceremony and all that boring stuff." Nia stated before she walked away and started heading to a less people filled part of town.

"Uh, Malos...?" The fifteen year old tried as he realized that the Blade was not following. Malos turned to face him and simply walked past without saying anything. The boy let out a sigh before he quickly followed his Blade and the others.

They walked for a little while before they paused as they found themselves in a quiet area without anyone to bother them. Rex decided that it was time to ask more questions as he could not help but be curious. "Core Crystals turning into Blades. Drivers resonating with the Core Crystals to create those Blades...it's all pretty amazing when you think about it."

"We Blades start out formless, anchored to the world only by our Core Crystal. Only the touch of a potential allows for us to have form and being. And it is by those forms, we come to be known." Rex was a little surprised that the explanation came from Malos, but he was glad that Blade was not just ignoring him.

"Blades come in all shapes and sizes. Some human-shaped, some not." Dromarch told them, and Nia spoke after him.

"Some people say that the shape of the Blade depends on the kind of person that the Driver is."

"So you see, Rex, it is perhaps the fated touch of a Driver that allows the Blades to exist at all." The Titan explained, and Rex raised a brow at that.

"Huh... Why does it happen it that way though?"

Azurda shook his head, "Now, that is something that no one knows. It's just the way that it's always been." He explained, and Rex nodded.

Up until now, he had not really thought about just how odd his resonance with Malos really was. From what little he knew before becoming a Driver, he was aware that Blades were not supposed to already have a body when you resonate with them. It was still amazing to see it in person, but it was also horrible to think that it could lead to death if the person does not have the proper aptitude.

He knew that it likely meant that Malos already had a Driver but the actual location of said Driver was unknown to him. If that was the case, though...why would Malos allow Rex to become his Driver. Not only that but he also gave half of his life force up. It also made little sense to him as to what Malos being the Aegis actually meant. All he knew was that Jin and Mythra clearly wanted what Malos had...his power.

"Halt, don't move!" The group was stopped in their tracks as soldiers from both in front and behind them showed. "You have and enemy in your midst. That's an enemy of the state, a member of Torna." The captain stated as he looked pointedly at Nia.

"Nia...a member of Torna?" Rex questioned, but they started talking again without answering the boy's question.

"It's her, no doubt about it. Gormotti Driver, white beast-form Blade. She looks exactly like the wanted poster."

"What wanted poster?" Rex asked, and the captain answered his question.

"Take a look for yourself." The captain said and showed all of them the wanted poster.

"Yeah, it really does." The fifteen year old said but flinched as Nia threw a glare in his direction.

"Oi, watch it!"

"Actually, it doesn't look anything like-" Rex quickly cut himself and realized that apologizing to Nia was not his biggest priority at the moment.

"Wait, this doesn't matter right now. Who cares if it looks just like her?" Nia let out a noise reassembling a hiss, and he honestly felt a little bad for basically insulting her.

"You must be a Driver too. What's your registration number?"

Rex felt confused, honestly having no clue just what the man was asking for. "Uh...3246..." He tried, already knowing that it was most likely completely wrong.

"Knock it off, you fool. No number must mean that you must be an illegal Driver."

•°•°•

After successfully managing to knock out all of the soldiers except for the captain, they took the opportunity to try to run away. They made it to exit that had been previously blocked off by some of the guards; however, just as they were about to leave blue flames blocked their path.

"What, a wall made of fire?" Rex questioned before a voice quickly interrupted him.

"Such a commotion and here I was thinking that I could finally get some peace and quiet." A blue haired woman stated, and she held two long sword like weapons in her hands. Her Core Crystal, in the shape of a flame, shone in the center of her chest. Her hair honestly looked to be on fire, with the two buns glowing with the same blue flames that lit up the end of her hair. Her dress, while revealing, looked to very much suit her.

"A Core Crystal... Is she a Blade? Where's her Driver...?" Rex questioned as he realized that it did not appear that her Driver was anywhere near at the moment.

"My Driver is otherwise engaged at present... I am here alone." The Blade stated, which confirmed Rex's suspicions.

"No Driver...?"

The captain chuckled at them, "Lady Brighid is jewel of Mor Ardain, the strongest Blade in the empire. Even alone, she's more than a match for you."

He then turned towards Brighid, "Lady Brighid, these Drivers are terrorists from Torna. Please lend me your power so we can bring them to justice."

Brighid did not respond to him at first and simply looked at Malos, although her eyes still appeared to be closed so it was hard to believe that she could even see him. "That amethyst Core Crystal... Could it really be true?" She questioned before she turned her head in Regan's direction. Her expression changed for a second, but she quickly changed it and looked towards the captain.

"Captain Padraig, you are not kill them. Take these ones in alive." She ordered before raising her weapons and putting herself in a fighting stance.

Regan winced a bit, already fully aware just how Brighid fought and just how powerful she really was. The Blade was definitely no pushover and dodged most of the attacks they threw at her. Even the attacks that did hit her; however, were quickly healed up. No matter how much they managed to do, any damage she took did not matter since she was a Blade.

"She repelled our attack...she's so strong..." Rex said after a few moments of attempting to fight her, and Malos nodded in agreement. Recognition was present in his expression, and he looked over at Regan instinctively. She was uninjured, but that did not change the fact she was evidently upset at something.

"And this is without a Driver." Azurda commented before Nia a Dromarch suddenly lunged at Brighid.

"Who cares how strong she is?! Quit your yammering and just get her." She yelled, but she looked in horror as a glowing net shot into the air and hit Dromarch. Nia had no time to do anything besides say Dromarch's name before she herself was captured in another net.

"Nia, Dromarch!" Rex called out but another net being shot into the air caught his attention. The net was heading straight towards Eva, who had not taken notice of it as she was busy attempting to find a way to help Nia and Dromarch out of the nets that confined them. Her Driver took quick note that Eva would be captured and quickly shoved her to the ground.

"Regan!" The fifteen year old yelled in unison with Eva as Regan was too caught in a net.

"Dromarch..." Nia muttered quietly as she struggled against the net. The Elf did the same before she realized that it was pointless. Her bond with Eva was practicaknew lly non-existent at this point, and she that any struggle was futile.

"That there is an ether net. Let's see you use your precious arts when you can't take in ether from the atmosphere." Captain Padraig informed them and watched as they helplessly struggled in the nets.

"Just go Rex, save yourself." Nia told him as he attempted to move closer in order to help them.

"I'm not just going to abandon you!"

Nia shook her head, "You've got your own problems, now take Malos and Eva and get out of here." She said and when Rex went to object she spoke again, "No buts, now go." He still looked hesitant, so Regan said something to him.

"We'll be fine, Rex, trust me... Now, get out of here." She told him, and Rex finally relented. The fifteen year old and Malos were unable to move before Brighid caused a circle of flames to appear around them.

"You won't escape." She told them, and Malos scoffed at that.

"You so sure about that, Brighid? This isn't the first time we've fought, but you were a lot stronger last time I have to say." Brighid looked confused at this, and Malos took the opportunity to grab his sword from Rex and sent a dark slash at her. Despite the fact that it had temporarily distracted her, she still managed to repel his attack.

"C'mon, kid, we need to find a way out of this. You got any ideas?" The Aegis asked, and Rex shook his head. Malos let out an annoyed sigh, but he honestly was not sure how they could get out of this. He just watched as Brighid approached them, while carefully watching for an opening to escape. Brighid took a couple more steps towards them before something shot out from behind them and hit the pipe between them and her.

"W-water...!" Brighid exclaimed as the burst pipe doused her in water, which caused the blue flames surrounding Malos and Rex to dissipate.

"Malos, now!" The Aegis said nothing before moving so Rex could grab the hilt of the sword as well.

"Shadow buster!"

The sword glowed with dark ether, and they brought the sword down and Brighid barely managed to block it. This gave them the opportunity to escape, and Malos gave the sword back to Rex as they ran away from the scene.

"That's right, Rex...run and never look back." Nia said softly as Malos and he ran out of sight. The soldiers quickly ran after the two; however, Brighid stayed behind.

"You mind telling me what you're doing here with a wanted terrorist?" Brighid questioned as she walked over to where Regan was confined in the net.

"Just give me a chance to explain, please...? I need to talk to Mòrag." Brighid let out a sigh.

"I suppose that's fair...but you'll have to wait until lady Mòrag gets here. She should be here by tomorrow."

Regan nodded, ignoring the look that Nia was giving her. "Thank you... Anyway...despite the circumstances, it's nice to see you again, Brighid."

"Good to see you too."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _Bonus Scene_ *

"You sure this is the place?" Ethan asked, his dark brown eyes looking back at Regan in question. The shorter Elf nodded in response and took another look around the area. They were currently standing in front of a fairly large cabin, which was located in the deep forest.

"You really think he's in there?" The male Elf then asked, while he carefully opened the front door to the cabin after he had looked through the windows. Regan nodded and bit down on her lip as she felt a sense of dread. Every part of her was screaming danger, but she could not simply allow this opportunity to slip away. The scent of blood was strong in the house, and she could help but feel sick to her stomach.

"Can you check the rooms in the right? I'll check the ones on the left." He seemed a bit hesitant but nodded as he realized that it was a rhetorical question.

They checked each room, there were four in total. The first room she checked was empty, but the second room was far from vacant. The wooden floor of the room was stained with blood, and it looked very recent. The blood stained floor had one person currently lying on it. Their chest and stomach were coated with blood, while their light armor had been significantly damaged. The worst part of it all...Regan knew this person, who was very clearly deceased.

"A-Addy..." She muttered at first, unable to say anything else to the limp body of her once very close friend. The person's trawberry blonde hair was coated and matted with blood and there was a wound on the back of their head. Regan had no idea what to do...one of her closest friends was now lying dead in front of her, and she could do nothing to change that. Tears slipped down her cheeks before she gently closed her friend's lifeless, hazel eyes.

She had no doubt about who had done this; however, she had hoped that he would at least have shown mercy to his own sister. Clearly, even Addy could not stop her brother, despite how hard she had tried. This was not his first murder, but Regan was determined that it would be the last. First, she had to find him. Considering how recent Addy's death was, it was likely that he was not far.

Regan got up from the floor and went to call out to Ethan. She stopped as she heard a strange sound in the room across from the one she that she was in. Only seconds after, a thud was heard as something or someone fell to the floor. She was regretting her decision to have their Blades keep a lookout on the outside of the cabin and wished that they were in here too. She could try to go get them, but that would give him time to escape.

She carefully approached the room and placed her ear close to the door to listen. Regan heard nothing except for pained moans on the other side. Despite her best judgement, she opened the door. The Elf let out a gasp of shock as she spotted Ethan lying on the floor with blood staining his very light armored chest. "Ethan, w-what-"

He tried to speak but coughed instead, and she noticed that he was looking at something...or someone. Regan had instinctively stepped further into the room and had essentially set herself up to be grabbed. Unfortunately, the person grabbed her before she could react and held a dagger to her throat. The dagger was wet, and Regan had no doubt that Ethan's blood was what was drenching the dagger.

"Been awhile huh, Regan?" She closed her eyes in response, unable to bring herself to respond. Regan knew that it was all her fault for dragging Ethan into his...and because of her, Ethan was going to die. A couple weeks was not a long time to know someone, but she had developed a bond with him...one that made her feel horrible, since she could have just left after he had saved her.

"Ethan, I..." The words caught in her throat.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _I've decided to have no set schedule for the story because I want to focus on making longer and better chapters without a time constraint. I'd like to mention one thing: the fact that none of the bonus scenes will have spoilers from Torna: The Golden Country until after the point where chapter two ends in the Xenoblade Chronicles main game. I'd also like to once again thank anyone who has liked and/or commented on this story. I appreciate any feedback you give. Thank you for taking the time to read my story out of all the other ones on this site. It means a lot to me._ *

* _I hope you enjoyed it._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


	7. VII. Unexpected Skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While running away from their pursuers, Rex and Malos encounter a Nopon. Once they are safe, Rex learns something he never expected about Malos.
> 
> Mòrag talks with both Nia and Regan after arriving in Torigoth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *There is no bonus scene this chapter: more details at the end of the chapter.*

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Seven; Unexpected Skill//

As much as Rex hated abandoning Regan, Nia, and Dromarch, he knew that they had no other choice. They ran from the soldiers pursuing them, having no idea of a safe location to hide. They ran quite far before a voice suddenly called out to them. Malos and Rex stopped and quickly looked in the direction of the voice. At first, they saw nothing but a wall until a hidden door opened.

A Nopon waved to them from the hidden entrance, "Friends, over here!" The male Nopon called out and when they did not immediately come over, he called out something else. "Hurry, hurry! Before soldiers catch up!" That got both Rex and Malos' attention, so they swiftly followed the Nopon into the building. The Nopon shut the door behind them before he followed them down the wooden ramp.

The place they were now in what definitely seemed to be a house. Malos had to admit that the house was actually quite nice, even though it definitely was not the time to be admiring the decor. Then again, it was not as though they could simply go back for the others. Even if Rex was more skilled, it would still be too risky. Attacking the soldiers head on, especially since they had the ether nets, would most certainly just result in Malos and Rex getting captured as well.

He was definitely a little worried but if Regan's calm tone when she spoke to Rex was any indicator, she was actually not that worried about the situation. Malos figured that she likely just had appeared calm for Rex's sake, but it almost seemed way to genuine to be fake. "Malos, are you okay...?" Rex's voice disrupted his thoughts, and Malos just nodded in response. The Aegis was trying not to make his emotions obvious, but the boy evidently knew something was upsetting him.

"Friends, this way!" The Nopon called out to them as he realized that they had stopped following him. They walked over to where the Nopon was standing next to a table. This stranger seemed friendly enough, but Malos knew that trusting someone took time. He had only just met this Nopon, so he was still tense.

"Whoa, we're so high up!" Rex exclaimed as he looked out a window. He took a look down at the Cloud Sea before the Nopon spoke.

"Yes. Tora just likes to sit and watch Cloud Sea sometimes." The Nopon stated, and he said something else once Rex looked back in his direction. "Anyway, my name Tora."

The fifteen year old nodded, "Tora, I'm Rex. This is my Blade: Malos." The words made the Aegis feel a little guilty, but he quickly brushed it away. The boy obviously felt comfortable with Malos being his Blade, but the Aegis was not sure if Rex was his true Driver. Rex definitely had the potential; however, there was still the possibility that he was not Malos' true Driver.

"Tora see."

Rex shot a curious look at Tora "So...just why did you help us, exactly?" He asked, genuinely wondering just why the Nopon had taken the risk to help them.

"Oh, Tora not like big bully soldiers. Was watching them when Tora saw friends. Tora was intending to hit soldiers with boom biter but missed... Results not so bad though, eh?"

"You were the one that hit the water pipe? Man, that was a good shot." Rex stated, "Thanks for the help." The boy said before Tora laughing caught Rex off guard.

"Tora...?"

The Nopon shook his head before he looked at Rex. "Actually, Tora have other reason for saving you." The fifteen year old had curiosity in his expression as Tora spoke. "You see, Tora always wanted to make Driver friends. Then, Tora saw Rex-Rex and others."

Rex nodded before he shot a look of confusion at the Nopon. "Rex-Rex...?" He questioned, and Tora just parroted it as a statement.

"You do realize it's just Rex, right?"

The Nopon turned to face Rex, "What is point?" Rex sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well...nothing I guess. It's just a bit odd."

"Double name just means respect. Rex-Rex should be proud of skills as Driver."

"That's nice but...I'm not sure I've earned all that yet." The fifteen year old stated, looking embarrassed at the compliment.

"Rex-Rex need to have more faith in himself. Tora is a bit envious of Drivers, so is very happy to meet Rex-Rex." The Nopon was very cheery with every word but his expression suddenly changed into one of slight sadness.

"Meh meh... Tora has always wanted to be Driver...but Tora have no potential to be one." Tora explained, and Malos sighed at that. The only way someone could be sure if they had the aptitude to be a Driver or not, would be to actually try to resonate with a Core Crystal. The risk of death was there but not all who failed to resonate met this fate. Some people became injured when they failed to resonate; however, the severity of such injuries varied.

"Hold on a minute, Tora, how could you possibly know if you've never-" Rex cut himself off as the realization hit him.

"You tried to resonate with one, didn't you?" Eva asked, concern present in her tone. Her voice somewhat startled Malos, as he had almost forgotten that she was there. He had not gotten the chance talk to her, nor did he have any clue what to say to her. From what little he had seen of her so far, she definitely reminded him of someone. Malos was not sure of just who she reminded him of, but he knew that she had a very close bond with Regan.

"It was bad... Tora had nosebleed for three days!" The Nopon exclaimed.

"Just...a nosebleed?" Rex asked, wondering what the big deal was about.

"What you mean 'just'?!! People die from loss of blood you know...?" Tora that Rex had basically just dismissed his symptoms as being nothing serious.

"Yeah...but from a nosebleed?"

"Whatever." Tora said before Malos suddenly spoke.

"While it was not as severe as it could've been, blood loss from the nose is a common injury that could be deadly if the loss of blood is too great." The Aegis informed, and Rex looked away at that. The fifteen year old was clearly embarrassed that Malos had, in some way, essentially scolded him.

"Yeah..." Rex could not bring himself to say anything else, worried that his Blade would scold him again.

•°•°•

"As fun as it's been talking to you, Tora, we need to save our friends." Rex stated as the Nopon tried to question him about just about everything to do with him being a Driver.

Tora paused at Rex's words, "Of course. Tora has not forgotten... First, we should eat. Trying to rescue friends on an empty belly would be bad idea."

The young Driver shook his head, "We've got no time for that. After we save them, then we can-" The sound of Rex's stomach growling interrupted his statement.

Letting out a amused laugh, Tora lifted one of his prehensile wings and pointed towards Rex's belly. "Seems that stomach of Rex-Rex disagree."

Sheepishly, Rex rubbed the back of head as he looked down at the floor. "I...I can't help it, can I?" He questioned, although the question definitely seemed to be one of the rhetorical nature.

As much as he wished to go ahead and rescue the others, he knew that Tora had a point. Trying to figure out a plan an empty stomach was a poor choice, and he knew that eating would allow for clearer and more focused thinking. Then, to Rex's surprise, Malos said something that was definitely unexpected.

"If you wish, I can cook a decent meal for us to eat. Tora, where do you keep your ingredients?" The Aegis questioned, while simultaneously ignoring the strange look Rex was currently giving him.

Tora, while he looked a little surprised, pointed towards a wooden container. The Aegis nodded and walked over to the container. His eyes scanned all the ingredients before he tilted his head back in Tora's direction "While there aren't that many ingredients here...I have something in mind." He informed and started grabbing the ingredients that he would need. Rex decided to ask him about it later and sat down at the table.

The boy had to admit that he was bit surprised that Malos could cook; however, he definitely was not complaining. If anything, Rex was grateful and relieved. Technically Rex could cook, but he just had the basics down at that was it. Regan, despite the fact that she did indeed eat meat, seemed to prefer fruits and veggies: both cooked and uncooked. The fifteen year old leaned forward with his elbows on the table as he waited for Malos to finish making whatever he was currently cooking.

"Patience, Rexy... I'm sure it'll taste delicious." He looked across the table at Eva, who honestly seemed quite happy despite the situation. Rex knew she had a tendency to be happy all the time but even then, he thought that she would be more worried about Regan than he was. To be honest, Eva seemed to be very unworried about the situation. Perhaps she knew something that he did not, but it seemed strange that she refrained from informing him of it if that was really the case.

"You say that with way more confidence than I could've expected." Rex finally replied, and Eva simply smiled in response.

•°•°•

"Here." Malos said as he set a plate of food in front of each of then. The Aegis then set one last plate down for himself, as even though Blades technically did not need food in the same way that humans did, most still ate food because it was enjoyable. To be honest, he had not been intending to sit next to Eva but something compelled him to. He still was not sure about just who exactly she reminded him of; however, he decided to worry about it once they rescued the others.

"Wow, this is delicious!" Rex exclaimed, almost startling Malos as a result. He was no stranger to being told that his cooking was good, but he had honestly thought that everyone exaggerated when they complimented his cooking skills. Even Regan had been a big fan of his cooking, as while she had been able to cook too, she never seemed to enjoy it as much as he did. Both his Driver, as well as Regan's Driver had enjoyed it as well.

"Ooh, yummy, oh super very tasty!" Tora also seemed to very much enjoy it, and Malos believed the Nopon's reaction to be genuine. From his experience, most Nopon tended to love food. Of course, not all Nopon would be exactly the same but most of them seemed to at least love both food and gold.

"This is amazing. I haven't eaten this well in a hundred fifty years." Azurda said as he happily ate the food he had been given. The Titan definitely seemed content with the food, and Malos made the decision that he would take them for their word.

"This is very good. Man, cooking has definitely never been my forte...guess I just don't have the talent for it." Eva stated, and Malos paused at the words. The words were very familiar, for they had been said by someone that had grown to consider family. It was then that Malos knew just who Eva reminded him of; however, the realization made him upset.

Even though Regan had not explicitly said it, he knew that Ant had to be dead. He knew for certain that his previous Driver was dead as well, for he had felt their connection sever during the time he had been asleep for all those years. Now, Regan was the only one left from that time that he fully trusted. He could no longer trust Jin, that was for sure.

"Malos?" Too caught up in his thoughts, the Aegis did not hear Rex calling out to him. "Malos, are you alright...?" The boy tried again, and Malos finally snapped out of it.

"Yeah." The male Blade stated, unable to find anything else to say. Rex looked worried but did not question Malos further. The boy clearly was reluctant to push Malos any further, seemingly aware that the Aegis' mood had dampened. He already had not been too cheery to begin with, but Malos had worn a neutral expression since that morning while his expression was now one of agitation. Malos was kind of scary, Rex had to admit.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

"Special Inquisitor Mòrag, to what do we owe this amazing pleasure?" The dark haired woman gave a unamused look to the consul. She crossed her arms behind her back as she quickly interrupted him.

"I don't stand on ceremony, Consul. I'd rather you just did your job."

"But your arrival is of utmost importance. You are His Majesty's representative-" The consul started but Brighid walking up to them caught the man off guard.

"You made impressive timing. I wasn't expecting you until tommorow." Brighid said as she stopped in front of Mòrag.

"Ahh, Lady Brighid...!" The consul exclaimed, but both Mòrag and Brighid ignored him.

"I got here as quick as possible; however, I'm afraid the passage has taken a toll on our engines." Mòrag explained before she looked over at the consul.

"Consul Dughall, I hear that you failed to capture the Aegis and his Driver... As disappointed as I am because of that, I also heard that you instead managed to capture a Driver of Torna along with another unrelated Driver." The consul stepped back in surprise.

"How do you-" The woman swiftly cut him off.

"Is there a problem, Dughall?"

He quickly shook his head, "Ah...not at all, Your Grace." Mòrag was clearly a little annoyed.

"I wish to speak to both of the prisoners...the Torna Driver first."

The consul looked around, almost appearing to be shocked. "Why would you-"

"Dughall, I don't remember asking for your opinion." The man sighed as he realized that she was not going to change her mind.

•°•°•

"So, you're the Torna ruffian... I must say, you do look a little different from your poster." Mòrag stated, and Nia scoffed in response.

"That's puttin' it lightly. Whoever drew that should be the one in jail." The woman nodded at that, an amused sounding sigh leaving her.

"Ah, yes. I would be angry too."

"You can drop the friendly act." The Gormotti stated, a knowing look on her face.

"You won't name your friends?"

Nia spoke after she let out an agitated sigh, "I'm not so sure I'd call those trigger-happy Torna goons 'friends'." It was somewhat a lie, as part of her still wanted to go back to them. She knew that she was no longer welcome there, but she was upset. Nia had considered them family, yet they tried to kill her when she had protected Rex.

"Hmm, I'm afraid we have our wires crossed here... I am not talking about Torna."

A look of surprise fell over Nia's face, "Huh. You're not?"

"No. I'm more interested in your more recent companions...the Driver boy and his Blade." Mòrag informed her, and the Gormotti then spoke without thinking.

"You mean Rex and Malos?" She asked, and Mòrag's smile quickly let her know the mistake she had made.

"Well, that was easy." Nia cursed mentally, realizing that she had fell right into the Ardainian's trap. She wished she had kept her mouth shut, but she had noticed the trap to late and had just spoken without thinking about the potential consequences.

•°•°•

Regan sighed at the look Mòrag was currently giving her, and she knew that she had a lot of explaining to do. She was not sure what all Brighid had informed Mòrag of, but she was definitely aware of her association with Nia. "You mind telling me why you're hanging out with a terrorist, Regan?"

The Elf looked down at the floor, "Mòrag, I know how bad this looks-"

"Really now... I can only imagine what Raymond will think of this." She knew that Mòrag was not one to mess around, and she knew that the woman did not appreciate liars. Regan had no plans of lying, already knowing that it would just cause more unnecessary trouble.

"Listen, Chairman Bana made a request to Rex...Torna was the one offering the job. I don't believe Nia was aware of everything they were doing, and she saved Rex when they attempted to kill him." Regan knew that she was leaving out quite a bit of information, but it would take too much time to tell the entire story.

The look on Mòrag's face indicated that she knew that Regan had left out information. Despite this, the Ardainian's expression softened as she took note that Regan was not lying about the information. "I see... How long have you known Rex?"

"Just a couple years now. He's a good person, and I think he thinks Nia is too even though she's with Torna."

The Ardainian nodded at that, "Even still, that does not exempt her from the crimes she has committed. Being a good person, she should take responsibility for her actions."

"I know that...and she will. I just think that just locking her up is not fair, and I believe that she should earn her freedom another way." Mòrag crossed her arms behind her back.

"I'm listening."

The Elf looked up from the floor, "It's fairly obvious that Torna is planning something very serious, and I think that Nia is capable of helping to stop them. Even if she was not aware of everything they were doing, she still delt with the people there on a daily basis..."

"Okay. Just how serious?"

Regan shook her head, "I'm not a hundred percent sure how they are going to do it outside of getting Malos... There's no way he'd go with them willingly, so I wonder just how they plan on convincing him."

"Hmm... And this is the same Aegis from five hundred years ago, correct?"

"Yes, he is. Look I know how the story has been twisted through the years, but Malos is not planning of destroying the world...he is actually planning to protect it."

"If that really is the case...it is reasonable to assume that the Aegis is not the monster that the story now says he is. How could the story have become this warped...?" Mòrag questioned.

Regan shrugged, "It happens... I mean, it has been five hundred years since then..."

"True..."

There was silence in the room for a moment, until Regan suddenly spoke. "Hey, Mòrag...can you do me a favor?"

"Depends... What is it?"

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

* _I was originally going to make this chapter longer but decided to just go ahead and post it. I've also decided to have bonus scenes every other chapter, rather than every chapter. Three thousand words is about the length I've decided on for chapters, and I apologize if you would prefer longer chapters. I might swap between writing three thousand words and longer chapters, depending on what exactly is going in the chapter. Thank you so much for the support, and I hope you all are well. I hope you enjoyed._ *

* _Sincerely, Talleybear._ *


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